Vengeance Club
by Oh-darling-if-only-you-knew
Summary: <html><head></head>Private school AU. In a place where most people are highly intelligent and loaded, you'd think Tony would fit right in. But in the friendships that he builds, neither of those are key factors - instead, he finds himself bonding with people on a personal level. Everyone has their baggage and this school is there for exactly that reason. Pairings in A/N</html>
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So, like with my previous fic, Purity Regained, I don't really know where this story is going to go. I just know the pairings: Sif/Loki, Thor/Jane, Bruce/Tony, Steve/Bucky, Nat/Clint (platonic), Fitz/Simmons, Darcy/Ian (also known as "intern" - see Thor 2) and Peggy/Pepper. Pfew. Quite a list. Anyway, yes, Private School AU. No warnings for this chapter yet, but the story is riddled with some strong language, angst and quite a lot of unhappy stuff like for example domestic abuse, and when that comes along I'll tell you. I might write something completely happy when someone asks me for it. Hope you'll enjoy :)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Marvel, except from some DVDs, but all rights go to them of course.

~oO0Oo~

"Sir?"

Tony groaned and rolled over. "Mmm, not now JARVIS, Pepper's just about to…"

He shot up. "Shit!"

"Well, at least you realised it on your own accord this time, Sir," the voice from his phone spoke. "Shut up JARVIS, I don't have time for your sass right now." "As you wish, Sir." With that, the phone fell silent.

Tony jumped out of bed. It was the first day of school – well, technically, they had already had a week, but that had all been introduction and settling in – but this was the first official day with classes. And he had already overslept. Not to mention the wet dream of his childhood friend Pepper… Now that had just been plain _wrong_.

He quickly put on his trousers, white blouse, dark blue jumper and started fiddling with his tie – _why did they have to wear those blasted things anyway!?_ Socks he had already been wearing. He always slept with socks. The shoes were not fighting him at least, thank God.

He shot a quick look at the empty bed across from him. Though it was immaculately kept, the guy's PJ's had been loosely thrown over the chair next to it. Tony liked his roommate, who had only moved in yesterday; Bruce was a bit silent, but very nice and a freaking genius, just like him. Unlike Tony though, he always managed to get up at ungodly hours like 5.30am, which was why he hadn't woken the other.

Tony swore softly. He only had fifteen minutes to get breakfast and make his way to class. He had been supposed to show Bruce the ropes in the building, but the guy would simply have to find someone else. _Way to make friends, Tony,_ he thought bitterly to himself.

Yeah, if this start was any indication to the rest of the year, school was going to be a bitch.

He ran out of the room into the small hallway which led to the stairs which led to the common room. To his surprise, Bruce was actually still sitting there with a book in his lap and a pair of fragile-looking glasses balanced on his nose.

"Oh, hey Bruce," he huffed. The boy smiled and took off the glasses. "Hey Tony." He stood up and handed his roommate a paper bag that smelled suspiciously like bacon. Tony could only stare, his jaw hanging slightly. Bruce shrugged. "You did say you have problems with getting up early, so I thought I'd get you breakfast."

Tony just nodded and took the bag, inhaling the vapours deeply, then looked up again. "I'm just gonna be frank here and say that I love you if that's okay." Bruce laughed. "Yeah, that's fine. Don't think this will be a regular thing, though."

The other boy nodded and wolfed down his breakfast. When he was done, his roommate quickly sent him back to their dorm room before he'd forget his books. "You're a champ, you know that, Specs?" Bruce just gave a shy smile. "You're welcome." Together, they left the common room, off to their first lesson.

Maybe this year wouldn't be so bad after all.

~oO0Oo~

Upon arriving at their lockers, Tony immediately received a paper ball against his head. "Late again, Stark!" Pepper laughed. The boy picked up the crumpled ball and threw it back at his strawberry blonde friend, missing terribly. "And your aim is still shitty!" She called after him. "Yeah, well, nothing a little dedication and practice can't change," he grumbled.

Bruce laughed. "So, how long have you two known each other?" Tony shrugged. "Eh, twelve years? No, sorry, thirteen. We were three when our parents dumped us at the same daycare centre." He looked ahead in silence for a moment. "You'd think a kid of that age wouldn't remember," he muttered.

His roommate stared at him silently, feeling there was more of a story here. He turned out to be right. "They didn't come back to pick me up. My parents, I mean. A, eh… a friend of the family came instead. Apparently they'd been in a car crash."

Tony looked back at Pepper, who was talking animatedly to her own roommate, a girl with wavy brown hair and black rimmed glasses. "I refused to let go of her. I gave her the nickname Pepper on that day," he said, smiling vaguely at the memory. "Anyway, I went home with her, to Obadiah's – the family friend's – annoyance. Her parents got her into the same school with me when they saw how close we were. And they did the same thing now, with Obadiah's help this time since they aren't, you know, loaded."

Bruce nodded. He understood that part. As soon as he'd seen his roommate's name, he had recognised it from Stark Industries, a company he would love to work with one day. Not for, though – he preferred to work on his own instead of underneath someone else.

He himself wasn't "loaded", as Tony had put it. He'd managed to get in on a scholarship after having shown the headmaster some of his research and theories on antielectron collisions. Most people in this building were close to geniuses. Looking at Pepper, he wondered where her strengths lay.

"Hey! Bruce!" Tony snapped his fingers in front of his roommate. "Come on, buddy. Stop ogling my Pepper." Bruce's eyes refocused and he gave a small apologetic smile. "I wasn't ogling, don't worry," he responded. "Good," the other boy said. "'Cause that would just be wrong." He threw his arm around his new friend. "Come on, let's get to class."

The first thing they had was Physics. In the first week, every new student had done a test to see which version they would be placed in, depending on how advanced they were. There were three classes they could be placed into, and despite the fact that Bruce still had to do his test, Tony was convinced he would be in Physics level 3, just like him. Nevertheless, they had to split up when the teacher sent him to a separate classroom to do the test. Along with him went two buff boys, one of them being comforted by a guy with shaggy brown hair and a prosthetic metal arm.

"Come on, Steve, stop fidgeting. I'm sure you'll be joining me in level 2." "Yeah, but what if they put me in level 1?" the blond boy asked with a serious look on his face, as if he were discussing battle tactics. "Well if that's the case then I can easily tutor you." Steve scoffed. "Come on, Bucky, I'm not worried about failing, I'm sure if I work hard enough it'll be fine." He looked around at the other students. "I'm just a bit… nervous about the others, you know?"

Bucky leaned in a little closer, his voice dropping out of earshot for Tony, but in the movement he caught the other's stare. His gaze hardened, and suddenly he looked a hell of a lot older. Damn, that guy was scary. He straightened his back. "Any thoughts you want to share?" he said coldly. Steve looked up with slight confusion as to what was going on, but before Tony could make some kind of snarky remark, he was ushered into the classroom along with the other confirmed level 3 students.

The lecturer spent another minute with the other students to give them their tests before he went to stand in front of the class. "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, my name is professor Selvig. I will be teaching you Physics. Now, I am not very well-known since I don't publish a lot of things, which is why I have time to teach you, but if any of you doubt my competence (as has happened in the past), you are all welcome to take a peek at my ongoing research on the occurrence known as an Einstein-Rosenbridge."

An excited murmur sounded to the right of Tony. When he looked, he saw one of the only two girls in the class fervently scribble some notes down, including a partial equation with a question mark. Pleasantly surprised, he made a mental note to approach her after class.

The professor cleared his throat, getting the class' attention again. "Now, there might be another one or two students joining this class. I will not wait with starting the curriculum just for them, we simply wouldn't come out with our time, so I expect of you to take the responsibility of getting them up to speed after this class."

This caused another murmur to ripple through the group; this promised to become hard work if they couldn't even miss one lesson. Tony wondered what would happen if the teacher was ill for a day.

The rest of the lesson was quite interesting, even though the subject was astronuclear physics and Tony was more interested in engineering. As for the hard work, Physics was probably going to kill his hand with all the notes he had to take. They didn't even have time to look at the homework, which he was going to have to do the same night if he didn't want to fall behind.

He looked around his class. He had tried his best to memorise their names during the absence check. The girl who had been enthusiastic about wormholes was called Jane Foster, and the other girl was Natalia Romanova, though she had carefully corrected the professor and given Natasha Romanoff as her name. Then there were three Brits (as Tony referred to them in his head); Leo Fitz, a relatively scrawny boy with a lot of enthusiasm, a slightly worn-out looking boy called Ian Boothby and a tall dark-haired boy called Loki Odinson. There were a few more people, but Tony had stopped trying to memorise their names by the time those were called.

After class he tried to approach Jane, but almost instantly realised she was already waiting for someone who had been taking the test. And of _course_, the second buff guy immediately walked over to her. "Jane," he spoke, his voice filled with warmth as he bent over and she stood on her tiptoes for a kiss.

Tony rolled his eyes and turned around to find himself face to face with Bruce, who quickly jumped backward. "Wow, way too close!" Tony exclaimed, while the other boy just blushed. "What were you even doing?"

"I thought, uhm, I thought I saw bacon in your hair…" Tony ran his hand through his hair, and fair enough, a piece of bacon fell to the floor. "I guess that's what I get for eating while bringing my bag strap over my head."

Bruce laughed. It sounded a little awkward, but genuine, which made Tony smile. They started walking to their next class together.

"So I'm guessing no luck with the ladies?" the shyer of the two piped up. Tony shook his head. "Nah, man, only two in the class, one of them dating the local jock and the other… Well, I didn't really get much of an impression of her, but I feel like she would try to eat me alive, you know?"

Bruce nodded. "Yeah, sounds familiar." Of course it would for that guy. He just radiated submissive; girls probably walked over him all his life. "But you could still have talked to the one with the jock about the class or the homework, couldn't you?"

Tony laughed and clapped his roommate on the shoulder. "I'm guessing you don't have much experience with girls. She was _kissing_, dude. Not the best timing. And even so, it's just easier for me to talk to girls when it's related to, you know, sexytime stuff."

Bruce snorted, but then fell silent, a frown forming on his face. "You're not a misogynist, are you?" Tony smiled. "Nah, dude. I'm just more comfortable around women when it comes to flirting. It's what I know. Platonic stuff, school stuff, that's more something I talk to guys about. You know, science bro's."

The spectacled boy nodded. "Science bro's." He cast a side-long glance at his roommate. "What about Pepper?" "Dude, enough with the Pepper-obsession! You have a crush on her or something? She's different, we met when we were three, remember? I just feel more relaxed around her. And that's without the whole sex thing. What we have is platonic. She's like my sister."

For a moment they were silent, but it didn't feel awkward or anything. "Besides, I think she might be gay."

~oO0Oo~

A/N: There, first chapter! I hope you'll want to read more :) I'll try to upload weekly for now, but I'm going home next week and I'm not sure if I'll be able to upload then. But I'll try! Also there is a chance I might change the rating to M, depends on what my beta-reader LillyCasterwill says. So please leave a review (even if you didn't like it, you're more than welcome to tell me why), you can request stories/oneshots (check out my profile for what I'm willing to write) and have a nice day :)


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Yay, chapter 2! I got a lot of advice on Banner's background after the first one, thank you Lupicina friggasdoiter! If anyone thinks my descriptions are inaccurate, I do apologise, what I know is from the films and from the tiny bit of research I put into this. But I do try and learn and keep it accurate, though also my own version and just enjoyable to read. And you are always welcome to send me your opinions and corrections. I would love to learn from you all. So I hope you enjoy :)

~oO0Oo~

By the end of the day, Tony felt like screaming. Yeah, sure, it had been fun and he had met some great new people, but every first day is exhausting and all he wanted to do right now was sit down in the common room, mess around with his Rubik's cube and talk to his new friends. It's what he would've done had he not been _buried _under the _freaking Mount Everest_ of homework.

He decided to stay in the common room anyway and just try and do the work there. It was far too cold in his own room, and there was a fire blazing in the hearth here. Besides, it just felt a lot more comfortable with all the people around him, talking and trying to get to know each other or complain loudly about their own homework. Someone had put on some music that he recognised as Somebody Shot Him by the Kidney Brothers. Pretty damn obscure music, but clearly there were people here with good taste, though he himself still preferred AC/DC.

He turned his bag upside down and let the books stream out onto the ground with heavy thuds, sighing heavily at the sight of it.

Suddenly, Bruce was right there next to him. "Hey," he said with a small smile. Tony jumped half a metre into the air before turning around and clapping his hand down on his roommate's shoulder. "Jeez, Specs, don't do that," he heaved, clutching his chest with his free hand. "Heart problems, didn't I mention?"

Bruce's eyebrows shot up. "You didn't. Sorry man, didn't mean to hurt you there." Tony huffed. "Yeah, well, don't worry about it. I don't think it matters much. If not you, then the homework surely will kill me."

Bruce looked at the pile of books. "Yeah. Let's just hope they're not planning on making the work load much worse than this." His shorter roommate shook his head. "Not gonna count on it. But hey, you wanna take a look at Physics, since you missed the class? It's nuts, man, honestly."

They sat down together as the music switched to Knee Socks by the Arctic Monkeys. Tony smiled. At least no-one was putting on Ke$ha or anything; that would've been the ultimate icing on the shitty cake that was this day.

The homework didn't turn out to be as obnoxious as Tony had originally thought it would be. As soon as they had opened their books, the three Brits from Physics came over to join them. At the sight of their class grouping, Natasha and Jane had joined as well. "Well, the more the merrier," Tony shrugged at the size of their group.

They looked at the pages together. "This is some seriously heavy stuff," Bruce frowned after a moment. "Way into University level." He pointed at his pages and read out some subjects of ongoing researches they were supposed to look into. "Quiescent stellar burning, tests of the statistical model for P-process nuclei calculations… Are we supposed to know exactly how it all works?"

"Well, obviously not," Loki spoke up, a slight mocking drawl in his voice. "I mean, these are _ongoing_ researches. The scientists working on this haven't even found the answers to the posed questions yet."

Ian frowned. "So what's the point then?" "Maybe it's to know what is happening out there right now," Leo responded. _Okay_, Tony thought, _maybe not a Brit, that's Scottish_. He sighed. "Well, whatever it is, I feel like Selvig's gonna take it out on all our asses if we don't have this finished by Wednesday." He looked around. "So, who's gonna grab their laptop?"

That turned out to be Jane, who had apparently made it herself. Tony started liking her more and more. Whatever had her all tangled up with Point Break was a complete mystery to him.

The rest of the evening was spent with talking and some debating about physics, though Natasha never really joined in. Tony really couldn't see how she got into level 3, but then again, she might just not feel like joining in. _Opportunistic bitch_, he thought sourly to himself.

Despite that, it was all in all quite enjoyable. They switched halfway through to playing Hangman with terms they came across in their research, no-one being able to guess the words 90% of the time since they made absolutely no sense. Somehow they also managed to do some other homework too, but it was mostly talking and laughing about meaningless things. It wasn't until the clock struck half past twelve when everyone hastily got up, stretching out and wishing each other goodnight.

Yeah, this place was going to be awesome.

~oO0Oo~

Of course everyone was completely shattered the next day, but still, it could have been a lot worse.

The first class of the day was Management and Organisation, which turned out to be quite similar to Economics class. The only reason Tony was taking this class was because Obadiah had signed him up for it with the words that he would one day take over Stark Industries, and he had to know the ropes. The only reason Tony hadn't protested was because this meant he had one more class he could do together with Pepper.

Bruce sadly wasn't in M&O, but Loki and Point Break were, as well as a guy called Clint and some women he recognised from the common room. Big Blond and Muscular turned out to be Loki's brother (one of those two _had_ to be adopted) called Thor. The other people in his class were obviously Pepper, and then there was Natasha, a tall British girl called Sif, a slightly shorter Brit called Peggy and Pepper's roommate, Darcy.

All in all, it was mind-numbingly boring, but at least Pepper seemed to be enjoying herself. She knew exactly what she was doing, and being in her element like this made her eyes spark with a fire Tony hadn't seen often enough lately. She seemed sharper than she had been in a while. It was good to see.

Tony had expected himself for some reason to sit down next to Loki and talk about stuff, since they had actually found themselves getting along quite well last night, matching sass and all that. Instead he had gone over to Pepper to sit down next to her, while Peggy had sat down on the other side of the redhead. Huh. Apparently he was more attached to her than he had thought of himself.

That wasn't a problem of course. Pepper didn't mind, and he felt quite comfortable sitting there and talking to her about how school was for her so far, or just watching as her eyes sparkled with attention, her back straight, head held up confidently. And if he wasn't mistaken, Peggy had seemed quite intrigued by this too.

So despite tedious classes and horrible homework, Tony found it all surprisingly doable.

Until PE.

There were no different levels for PE, it was just hard-core exercise until you drop down dead.

You wouldn't think it at first, though, when looking at the teacher, Mr. Coulson, who seemed slightly slumped and was definitely aging. There was an almost friendly polite calm in his features. He would never raise his voice, never yell at you, even if he was angry.

Well, clearly looks could be deceiving.

"Let's start with twenty laps."

"You're _kidding_, right?"

Coulson turned his head to Tony. "Something you would like to add, Mr. Stark?" Tony could feel his head going red. He didn't like being addressed by his last name, having everyone knowing he was rich boy Stark, much more preferring to prove his own worth without any prejudices or set expectations. Sadly, every teacher seemed to use last names for the students.

"Yeah," he spoke up, drawing on that stubborn pride hiding within him and pushing down his blush. "We're not all those two," he said, waving to Thor and the other blond, Steve, trying his best to ignore Mr. Prosthetic's burning glare. "Maybe building up is a better approach? One that won't get guys like us -" he gestured to himself and Clint, who let out a sharp laugh – "killed?"

Coulson raised his eyebrows. "This school doesn't believe in building up, Mr. Stark. We believe that if we set the bar high in the beginning, you can get used to it, and eventually you will realise that it isn't all that bad. Now, twenty laps. And let this be a warning. Next time you go against my authority, I'll add some laps."

Tony groaned, but couldn't slack after a such a display and lose even more of his dignity, so he started running. To his annoyance Clint turned out to have perfect stamina. Hell, even Loki hardly dented under the punishing warm-up. Peggy even yelled "Pick up the pace, Lady Stark!" when passing him in a lap.

The only ones who seemed to properly suffer were Tony, who could've done worse actually, Bruce, Leo (or Fitz, as most people called him) and Ian, who all three suffered from asthma, Darcy, a girl called Jemma (or Simmons apparently), and Jane, though Jane, like Tony, seemed more knackered than actually dead. Though his heart condition wasn't exactly doing him much good.

Yeah, PE was a nightmare. Coulson was a calm and understanding man who wouldn't push kids like the asthmatics and Tony beyond the point that would get them to cough up blood, but other than that he was relentless. Everyone had to build up stamina and work on their flexibility. They did some yoga for that, but it didn't do much for Tony other than making him feel even more like his limbs had suffered from gangrene and had fallen off.

As they walked back to the dressing room, Tony tried to rotate his shoulder, causing him to wince. "Man, I have never needed a shower more in my life." Bruce nodded, trying his best to keep his breathing in check while sucking on his inhaler.

Fitz came up behind them, also wheezing. "I know right? Except we can't." Tony's head swivelled around like an owl's, adding a painful neck to his list of soreness. "What?"

"Yeah, if you look at the time, because of the whole checking names and ailments thing we're running late," Fitz explained. "We have chemistry in five minutes, and I somehow don't feel like they're going to let us be late because we needed to shower. Do you?"

Tony swore loudly. Of course they wouldn't. The teachers in this school were like friggin' dictators.

They quickly got dressed. This short moment turned out to be quite interesting. When they had changed for PE, Tony had been too busy talking to Bruce about their own ailments to watch the others. Now that he did, he was quite intrigued by what he saw.

There were actually several guys who were covered in scars. Thor and Loki both seemed to have suffered from quite a few cuts and bruises in their life, but Clint, Steve and Bucky looked like they had survived friggin' _Vietnam_. All three had multiple scars on them that Tony recognised from TV as _actual bullet wounds_. And now that Bucky wasn't wearing a shirt, the young billionaire could see where the prosthetic attached to his torso. It looked an utter mess. But hey, what do you expect when it's a _Soviet surgery_? Seriously, why was there a red star on that guy's arm? And what was up with the dog tags around his neck?

"Tony! Chemistry, remember?"

Tony looked up. Bruce was staring at him with a worried frown. "Yeah. Of course. Sorry. I got a little distracted."

They walked out of the dressing room, Bruce heaving his bag a little higher on his shoulder. "Yeah, I could see that. You do get that it's rude to stare, right? I mean, James really didn't look happy with you."

Tony frowned. "James?" "Yeah, that's his name." "I thought it was Bucky." Bruce quickly looked back. "Only Steve calls him that, Tony. Really, you should watch out around this guy. You're not exactly building an A+ friendship here if you continue like this. And I feel like there's plenty of strength in that prosthetic to snap your neck, and plenty of potential within that guy's mind to actually do it."

The shorter boy swallowed. "Yeah, I'll keep that in mind."

~oO0Oo~

A/N: For those who think M&O sounds like a made-up subject, they taught us that in secondary school in the Netherlands. I didn't take it because I didn't have an Economy package for classes, but I heard it was similar to Economy class. Also, The Kidney Brothers are amazing. Somebody Shot Him is a great song. That is, if you ask me. It's country rock genre I think, but I love them. So, review, request, and have a nice day :)


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Okay, I am ridiculously bored and the writing for this story is finally taking shape, so I thought hell let's upload another chapter! We're starting to get into the soul-searching that will occur throughout this story in this chapter, starting out with Loki (though it's only the tip of the iceberg of course). Also, I'm not sure if I warned for this, but this fic contains some pretty coarse language throughout, some swearing in this chapter and then some pretty intense stuff in the next one. But I hope you'll enjoy :)

~oO0Oo~

Tony was lying down on the soft red carpet that covered the floor in the common room, his head resting in Pepper's lap, his M&O book lying forgotten on his chest. Pepper was getting her hair braided by Peggy, who was actually far nicer than Tony had thought at first. She reminded him a lot of his own childhood friend, a strong and independent woman type of person with sharp eyes and a "taking none of your shit" attitude. Which made the visual of her braiding Pepper's hair slightly odd.

Chemistry had gone by without problems, he'd been in level 3 there as well, though since it was slightly less within his interests he found himself having to work harder for it. Bucky, or James, or whatever, had been in level 2, so he hadn't been bothering Tony. Now that they were back in the common room though he could feel the older boy's gaze on him. He dared a quick glance to make sure it wasn't just paranoia.

It wasn't. Bucky was giving him quite the glare. Despite the creepiness Tony found it difficult to look away immediately. He had always been able to appreciate a good-looking human specimen, and Bucky was definitely one. He had taken a shower, and his half wet shaggy hair had been tied back into a ponytail. To top it off the guy had taken off his uniform and was now wearing a sleeveless shirt, as if to say he didn't give a damn about what Tony or anyone else thought of his metal arm. It highlighted his muscles quite nicely. Shame he seemed to be practically dating Steve. Though his hate for Tony would probably be the most important factor in making any flirting hella awkward.

Pepper slapped him on his head, and he quickly looked away. _Yeah, staring. Rude._ The women above him burst out in laughter though, and he managed to crack a smile himself too.

Pepper quickly convinced Peggy to play a game she called Dating Site, where they would try and predict who would end up together. Tony groaned at hearing this, having been forced to play it with her many times, but secretly he decided it could be interesting this time; Pepper was hardly ever wrong.

"Okay," Peggy spoke resolutely, "first we need to point out the already existing couples to so that we can rule those out." Pepper nodded. "Okay, in that case we have Thor and Jane and Sif and Loki." Tony raised his eyebrows. "Really? Didn't know that one." Pepper grabbed his head and turned it. "Ah." Loki was playing the piano in the corner of the room with Sif on his lap, his chin resting on her shoulder. "Yeah, fair enough. And I think you can add Steve and Bucky."

Peggy nearly choked on her tea. "What?" she managed to wheeze. "Oh come on, those two are all over each other. You can't just say that's all platonic."

Peggy shook her head incredulously. "I can't comment on that one." Pepper just laughed. "Peggy and Steve used to date, Tony," she explained upon seeing his confusion. "Oh." Well, people could find themselves bi, right? His childhood friend chuckled. "But I do think you have a point, Tony. If there's nothing between them, then there will be something soon, or my name isn't Virginia 'Pepper' Potts." "Ooh, it's official now," Tony grinned. She wouldn't say that unless she was absolutely sure. And when she was, she would always turn out to be right.

"So, having those striped off the list, who do we have left?" Peggy looked around. "Well, personally I see Fitz-Simmons happening, at least if either of those two actually manages to pull their heads out of their arses." Pepper laughed. "Definitely, Fitz is smitten. But that was an easy one. Let's try something more difficult."

They scanned the room again. "Oh, oh, I know," Tony spoke up, "Natasha and Clint." They were sitting at a table, heads close together. There was definitely more going on between those two. Pepper nodded in approval. "You're on a roll, aren't you?" "Well, I had the best trainer."

Peggy just smiled at this. "What about this one?" she asked. "Darcy and Ian." Tony laughed. "Well, Ian has been giving her an awful lot of stares during PE. But maybe that's just what happens when you're an awkward virgin who's been put in a class full of movement with a girl who has a significant rack."

He received another smack on the head for that one. "No," Peggy said, "he sort of hinted at it during lunch." "In that case we just need to know if there is a mutual attraction or not," Tony said. Pepper shrugged. "Well, she did say she liked his ass. But then again, she says that about pretty much everyone." "About me as well?" Another smack. "You're as bad as she is. Maybe you two should go out together."

Peggy laughed, but then suddenly exchanged a conspiring glance with the redhead. "Although…" Tony quickly shot upright in an attempt to put some distance between himself and his friend. "Oh no. Don't say it, I don't want to know."

Peggy just grinned evilly. "We have the perfect pairing in mind for you," she sing-songed. "And you know I'm hardly ever wrong," Pepper added. Tony quickly covered his ears. "Don't want to hear it!"

Well, that was a mistake. Now the girls had to make themselves audible.

"You and Bruce!" they shouted in unison.

For a moment there was nothing but the gigantic _cringe_, but when Tony finally managed to unlock his muscles and uncover his ears, he saw the entire common room staring at him, apart from the two girls, who were grinning in glee and looking at something behind him.

Tony quickly turned around.

Bruce was standing at the bottom of the stairs, books in his arms, a fierce blush on his face. After a second of awkward staring he swivelled around and sped back up the stairs and out of sight.

"Fucking perfect," Tony muttered. He quickly turned back to the girls for a moment. "I hope you two are happy with this," he spat at them. "I'm sure you'll end up as the Queen couple, roaming the halls and ruining lives." He turned back around and ran after his roommate.

~oO0Oo~

"Hey, Bruce, you do get that they meant it as a joke, right?"

No answer.

"Come on, Specs, open up, it's my room too remember?"

Still nothing.

Tony tried the doorknob again, but there was no getting in. "Come on, Bruce!" he exclaimed. "At least let me know that you're alive in there!"

A second later a piece of paper was shoved under the door.

_Alive. Can you sleep at someone else's tonight please_

"Fucking perfect," he muttered again. But there was something about the note, maybe the choice of words, or maybe the shaky handwriting, that put him off making another attempt at getting a reaction. This would do for today. He'd find someone who'd want to hold a slumber party.

"As long as I find my books in the hallway tomorrow morning," he spoke though the door. There was no answer, but the silence felt agreeing. And so he went back to the common room, hoping his charms had done enough for him to let someone else than Pepper be willing to take him in.

Turns out there was; Steve. He clapped the guy on the shoulder. "You're a real champ, Steve, really, but I think your boyfriend will skin me for that." The confused frown he received for that was pure comedic gold, but Tony managed to keep himself in check.

In the end Loki and Fitz would be his hosts of the evening. Tony was quite happy with that; Loki might be a sarcastic bastard, but so was he, so they managed to get along quite well. And Fitz was, dare he say it without instantly growing lady parts – downright adorable. You couldn't _not_ like that guy. This was promising to be another nice evening, despite the Bruce Incident.

When Tony stepped into their room he had to do a double take.

"Wow, Fitz, didn't know you were such a space geek," he said, his voice full of admiration. The scrawny boy shrugged. "Not really. I mean, space is really cool, but the decoration is all Loki."

The walls didn't look like walls. The entire room felt as if Tony had stepped into a glass cabin floating in the middle of deep space – constellations, solar systems and nebulas in every known colour drifting around them. "Wait, is that… actually moving?"

He stepped a little closer. It was. _Damn_.

Tony turned around to face the taller Brit. "Did you make the projections?" Loki nodded, neither pride nor modesty on his face; just acknowledgement. No wonder that guy was in level 3 Physics. He had made a near perfect hologram to project on his bedroom walls. Tony couldn't even see where it came from, and none of the projections hit anywhere but the walls, ceiling and floor, nothing to be seen on the furniture, as it would have from a beamer projection. It was bright enough to almost mimic daylight.

He whistled softly. "But why?" Loki shrugged. "I have always admired the stars, deep space. And as a child I didn't live in the city, but out in the countryside. We frequently suffered from power cuts, so Thor and I often went out at night to look at the stars. On clear nights we could see the arm of the Milky Way."

He smiled. God, he was handsome when he smiled. Sure, the bitter or sarcastic snide looked quite good too, but the dreamy smile? _Wow._

Tony shook his head. _Jesus, Tony, you've been around these people for only a few days and you're already checking out almost every single one of them. Are you that desperate to get laid?_

He smiled back at the god – because that was what Loki was, and Thor too for that matter. _I mean, their names do sort of hint at it._

_Oh my _God_, Tony, focus!_

"It's awesome."

And it was. It totally was. He couldn't stop staring at the swirling clouds of light, which looked as if they were truly in the distance, out in space. He almost forgot about the furniture in the room.

"We turn it off during the day, though, let some normal light into the room." "Uhuh."

"Tony?" "Hmm?"

"Stark!" Pale slender fingers snapped in front of Tony's face, and he blinked quickly in reflex. "What?" Loki smiled one of his more snide smiles. "You seemed pretty far away there, Stark." The younger boy nodded. "Yeah, outer space," he responded, still slightly dreamy.

"But what happened in the common room, Tony?" Fitz piped up. "What's wrong with Bruce?" The look on Loki's face was nothing short of _damn, son, don't you know you're out of line?_ "You realise that's not a very polite question, right, Leo?" he remarked.

It struck Tony for a moment that the kid who was called by his last name by everyone was addressed by his first name by Loki, while Tony was addressed by the god with his last name. Oh well. It sounded right from the guy's mouth, smooth. He could get used to it.

"I don't know," he answered, not giving the kid a harsh time for his social awkwardness. He was simply too damn _cute_. "But he's your roommate; shouldn't you know?"

And Tony realised that _yes, he probably should_. He sighed. "Look kid, he's been my roommate for three days. He barely knows me, and I barely know him." He ran his hand through his hair, an old nervous tick. "Maybe he'll tell me in a few days, when we have gotten to know and trust each other a little better."

The scrawny boy nodded. "Yeah, I can get that. I mean, me and Loki don't know much about each other either, and I'm sure there's plenty to tell from both sides."

Loki neither confirmed nor denied this, but somehow Tony felt like Fitz was right. The little bit of information Loki had just given about his childhood sounded quite nice, but the two brothers had scars; Tony had seen them in the dressing room after all. You didn't get scars like that from a perfect childhood.

He sighed as he sat down on the spare mattress on the ground. "People are a bit too complicated for me," he said. "It would just be so much easier if you saw them, just the first impression, and could move on after that."

Loki gave a bitter smile as he sat down next to Tony, studying two long white scars that crossed each other on his left hand. "It would be, wouldn't it? Sadly, every human being has his own background, his own baggage. And if you have to live with someone, it just makes it easier if all the cards are on the table."

He looked sideways at the young billionaire. "Go to him tomorrow," he said. "Talk to him. Tell him your story, open up. Then give him some space to do the same. Just show him that you trust him, and I'm sure that in time he will open up to you too."

Tony nodded. "You're good at this, aren't you? The whole minds and people thing." Loki shrugged again. "The human psyche has always interested me."

Despite Loki's advice to open up to your roommates, bigger part of the evening was spent with some light-hearted chatting about school. Tony explained what Pepper and Peggy had been doing, causing a fierce blush to creep onto Fitz' face, which made the older boys laugh, though they decided not to press the matter and not give the kid a hard time for it.

"So how long have you and Sif been together?" Tony asked Loki, who smiled at the subject – one of his genuine smiles. "Slightly over a year now," he answered. "Just a month shorter than Thor and Jane."

"So what's the story?" Fitz piped in, desperate to get the subject away from him and Jemma, even though he was long in the clearing.

Loki laughed at that. "Well," he said, "we grew up together. Thor called his friends Lady Sif and the Warriors Three. Sadly, we had to leave those other three friends behind, but the name might give you an idea on the relationship we all had with each other."

His gaze became a little unfocused, his mind going back to the past. "We pretended to fight medieval battles all the time. Thor would use brute strength, I would use little tricks, and Sif was like a combination of us two – she had the agility and the stamina, the muscles, even as a kid, but she was also great at battle tactics. She and I liked to team up. Usually Thor would claim me in his team because he needed someone for the battle tactics, but whenever Sif and I worked together we had a guaranteed win."

Tony could completely imagine it, young but wiry kids, a fiery glint in their eyes as they rushed the opponent, now and then dodging obstacles and rolling out of the way of fake arrows raining down upon them.

"Anyway, my father, being a bastard and a control freak, had everything planned out by the time we were twelve. Thor would marry Sif and inherit the county -"

"You guys own a county!?"

_Oh, there you go Tony, smile gone, frown in place._

"Can I continue my story?"

Tony swallowed. Okay, maybe Loki was a little bit extremely intimidating.

"Sure, yeah, go ahead."

And his voice _totally did not squeak there_.

"As I was saying… Thor would marry Sif and get the land while I would be runner-up. You can imagine this caused quite a bit of friction between me and him."

"Actually, sorry, no, I can't. Kind of an only child here."

Loki let out a small sigh. "Well, I was nothing but a shadow in my father's eyes, always in second place, nothing but a safety net in case something happened to the Golden Boy of the family."

_Wow, bitterness much?_

"And to top it off he was supposed to get the girl I had feelings for ever since I was little. No, Thor and I did _not_ get along well back then."

"So what changed?"

A small smile crept back onto the tall boy's face. "Jane moved into town.

"She loves the stars, just as Thor and I do. One night he crept out to watch them again, even though apparently it wasn't the same without me. And she was there, mapping out the constellations."

He was silent for a moment before speaking again. "Anyway, long story short, he and Jane got together against my father's wishes, and me and Sif were brave enough to officially become a couple a month later. Father kicked us all out, and with the help of mother we got in here. That was a year ago, Thor wanted to redo his Physics test to see if he could get into level 3 with Jane."

Well, Big Blond and Muscular hadn't succeeded there, but he had still gotten into level 2, which was pretty damn good.

It had been an interesting story. But Tony could see by the way Loki stroked the scars on his hand that it hadn't been told completely. But that was okay. With a bit of trust and patience he might get to hear it another time.

After that they all decided it was time to go to bed, the atmosphere too heavy for some small talk yet too light for more soul-searching. And when Tony finally fell asleep, he dreamt of battle fields and nebulas.

~oO0Oo~

A/N: So that's the pairing in place, made official by Pepper! (Apart from Nat and Clint, I'm keeping them platonic.) Which of those would you like to make me pay more attention to? I'm writing chapter 6 right now, but for after that, I would love to know where you would want more attention and fluff. Review, request, and have a nice day :)


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Yay, bi-weekly updates now! In this chapter we'll get to know a little more about Bruce. Not everything, but some of it. So yeah, soulsearching inbound. Warnings for this chapter: talk about serious bullying, gaybashing, short mentions of sexual harrassment. And maybe some angst? I don't know, I'm terrible at spotting angst sometimes. Hope you'll enjoy :) (The song is Don't by Ed Sheeran btw, for those who don't know and want to.)

~oO0Oo~

_"__I met this girl late last year, she said don't you worry if I disappear"_

"Come on Pepper, can you turn the music down!"

Tony had to shout over the voice of Ed Sheeran which was booming through the common room, but to no avail. Everyone would have the next day off because of a staff meeting, and so the tables and couches had been shoved to the side and the lights had been dimmed while the music had been turned up. A party. Just when Tony wanted to get some work done.

His redheaded friend shook her head, hair falling down in shiny locks over her shoulder, hips swaying sensually, arms raised to the air. Peggy was standing almost flush against her, mirroring her movement so perfectly it almost seemed like they were conjoined twins – with a hell of a lot more sexual tension of course.

"Go make your homework in your room!" she shouted back. "Or put it away and join the party! One or the other!"

Tony groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. It was actually a difficult choice; he wasn't in the partying mood, but he was even less in the mood to face his roommate.

_"__Maybe you could swing by my room around ten, baby bring a lemon and a bottle of gin"_

Bruce hadn't been in class today. So whatever it was the girls had skimmed over with their comments, it must run deep. Because missing class, missing both the first and now second Physics class they'd had? That just didn't sound like something Bruce would do.

Tony groaned again. He might only be seventeen, but here the age limit for drinking was eighteen instead of twenty-one like back home. And yeah, right now he needed a drink.

He looked up at the other students. A choice between having to force himself to socialise, though with easy access to alcohol, or forcing himself to face a painful conversation with his roommate, a conversation that could so easily go wrong and ruin everything between him and his new friend. And he would still have to live with the guy for the rest of the year.

_"__Baby if you wanted me then you should've just said"_

Yeah, Tony knew what the easy option was.

Just as he was about to make his way to the table with drinks, his gaze crossed Loki's.

The taller boy gave him a stern look, not judging, just a reminder of their conversation of last night.

Tony quickly turned away, picking up a bottle and staring intently at it for a minute before realising he had no idea what it was. A hand on his shoulder woke him from his trance.

_Steve._

Seriously, that guy was going to get Tony in big trouble the way things were going. "Maybe it's better if you don't," the blond boy said, a friendly tone in his voice.

"Yeah? Well what business is it of yours what I do?" Tony spat at him, immediately feeling a small spike of guilt for it. "Maybe it isn't -" "Damn right it isn't." "- but I do think you're a good guy, Tony. And so is Bruce. And I don't like seeing things going wrong between the two of you."

_Yeah, that wasn't really helping with the guilt at all._ "Look, Steve, that's very nice, but -" "Just go to him," Steve quickly interrupted. "It's far better to get it over with than to let it fester."

Tony gave the other boy a calculating gaze, stretching the silence. "What's behind this?" he asked eventually. Steve let his hand slide off Tony's shoulder. "There's not always some higher motive or manipulative idea behind things, Tony." His gaze fell to the floor. "I guess I just care."

At hearing those words, Tony felt guilt, relief and gratitude wash over him. He pulled Steve into a bear-hug. "Thanks, Champ," he muttered. _Damn Bucky for being the biggest possessive douche on the planet, keeping the apparently amazing guy and friend that Steve was from him._

Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder, roughly coaxing him off the blond boy. "Are you fucking kidding me!?" he exclaimed. "Am I even allowed to _look_ at the guy, or is that too much for your jealousy as well?"

"It's not about you or me," Bucky said without emotion, to then ignore Tony completely. "Steve? Steve, look at me. Breathe."

_Oh._

Steve's entire body seemed frozen, locked in place, apart from his chest, which was going up and down way too quickly as the guy was trying to escape the quicksand that hyperventilation and a full-on panic attack could be.

_Everyone has baggage._

He looked around at the party. The music was as loud as it had been, and only two or three people had noticed the ruckus. He could only just hear Natasha tell Pepper to keep the music on, let the party continue. Steve had enough attention right now; let him keep his dignity, give him a little space and peace. And sure enough, Steve and Bucky left the room mere moments later to find some peace and quiet. No reason to stop the party. The story would spread on its own tomorrow. Right now everyone should just enjoy themselves while they could and weren't buried in either homework or hidden emotions.

Tony sighed and put down the bottle. He was probably King of Evading Problems-land, but he was also a stubborn son of a bitch. And it seemed that emotions were going to be everywhere. Nowhere to hide from them.

_Let's just get this over with._

~oO0Oo~

"Bruce, I still have my own key and I'm coming in right now." _Yeah, best to just rip off the band-aid._

He could hear some scrambling inside the room, but he didn't care if the guy was presentable right now. He swung open the door.

"What the hell is wrong with you!"

Okay, if there was one thing Tony hadn't expected it was Bruce _shouting_.

The scrawny guy threw his hands up. "Well, the door is open now, come in and close it." Tony just stared at his roommate. "CLOSE THE FUCKING DOOR!"

"Hey, Bruce, buddy…" he tried, but that was as far as he could get. "Don't you fucking 'buddy' _me_, Tony. Don't you fucking _dare_!" Tony had to duck before an old school trophy hit the wall with a bang.

_Okay, something has to be done about this_, he thought to himself. With two big strides he reached his friend and tried to grab the boy's arms, but Bruce just started swinging wildly. "Don't you touch me! Don't you _fucking_ touch me!"

"Bruce, calm down! Come on, man, what have I done!?"

Bruce's fist flew up, and suddenly Tony felt a dizzying pain ringing through his head, his left cheekbone throbbing while stars flashed behind his eyelids. With a groan he stumbled backwards. _Damn, there was a hell of a lot of strength in that kid when he got angry._

He wanted to take a moment to recover from the punch, but he could hear Bruce grabbing something to throw again, so he quickly opened his eyes and ducked again.

Now that there was some distance between them, Tony could see tears streaming down Bruce's cheeks. It was only in a flash before things were hurled at his head again, each object going along with a forced out word. "Just – leave – me – alone!"

_Okay, that was _it_._

Tony ran to his roommate and full-on _tackled_ him, straddling the boy and pressing him to the ground, grabbing his wrists too for good measure. Bruce continued to struggle and force out some inaudible words, but Tony had the upper hand in weight and strength. After about a minute, all that was left was a sobbing Bruce and a panting Tony. He decided it might be best to stay on top of his roommate though, just to be on the safe side.

Tony looked intently at Bruce's face, waiting for the other boy to look up and see him. "You are going to tell me right now what the hell is going on here, Bruce," he demanded when that happened. "Because we need to sort this out."

He quickly handed Bruce his inhaler before he would actually die and waited a moment for the boy to gather himself. After a puff and a few deep breaths, his roommate finally seemed ready to talk.

"I have bad experiences with people calling me gay," he managed to bring out. Tony nodded. "Tell me more."

And Bruce told him. He told about the school he used to go to, where he was bullied ferociously for his intelligence, his asthma, his virginity, you name it. The girls had all gone far out of his way with disgust on their faces, the boys had stolen his clothes in PE, locked him in toilets, pulled down his pants. All of them had chanted wherever he went, "Brucie likes it big and black!"

The worst moment had perhaps been when he had been pushed up against the wall, too weak to fight the guy off, his pants pulled down. They had felt him up right there, where everyone could see. And no-one had done a thing. No-one had called his attacker out for being gay because he touched Bruce.

The young genius had gotten into heaps of trouble in that period. He might look shy, but he had an anger management problem that could rival WWE wrestlers. He had often just gotten so sick of it that he had snapped, hoping he could scare them off. Instead it had provoked them, and had made sure no teacher could see him as a victim again.

In the end, he had opened his medicine cabinet and had swallowed every pill he owned. They had pumped his stomach, and from that moment he started receiving home schooling.

But then one day his teacher had to ask him why, what had they bullied him about, what was the worst of it all. And Bruce had told about the homophobia. How it hadn't hurt him so much because they called him gay in the worst ways, but because they thought him so repulsive for it.

Because Bruce was indeed gay, the students had been right about that, despite Bruce never having told anyone and his only relationship having been with a girl called Betty. He had never even had a crush on a guy. But he just knew.

And the hate, the disgust for it, that had hurt the most of all. They hadn't seen him as a person anymore, but as a heap of dog shit they had just stepped in. And maybe, just maybe… He had started to believe it. He had started to believe he was indeed filth for what he was. But now, with a kind teacher who was gay himself, he had slowly started to feel slightly better.

But his dad had heard. And he had lashed out. At first he had seemed stoic, asked about the "gay thing", if he had heard his son right. Bruce had seen the anger and disgust build in his father's eyes, so he hadn't dared to answer. But that in itself was answer enough.

Three ribs had been broken, along with his jaw and his nose. For his own safety they had kept him in hospital until he was fully recovered. He didn't want to go home, but home wasn't even an option – his dad had disinherited him and kicked him out, claiming he had no son. So Bruce had, with a bit of help, ended up here, at the Shield Academy.

Tony looked down at his roommate, his _friend_, a boy who had probably never had a friend before – _how could everything have felt so natural in the beginning? As if Bruce had known how to handle people, how to make friends._ Had he flinched when Tony had called Pepper gay? He couldn't remember. _Pompous ass, always so self-absorbed, never seeing beyond that._ Though somehow he felt like Bruce had marvelled at him, being so casual about it, being best friends with someone he thought was gay.

He felt a stab of guilt now. He had restrained his roommate and forced him to talk about his problems, his past. He had restrained him, just like that dick had done in the middle of the hallway.

He thought back at his conversation with Loki again. And he realised that without knowing what went on behind the built-up exterior of someone, you could do them serious damage with actions like these. He saw the importance of these soul-searching sessions now. And _damn_, this had been one _hell_ of a session.

In one swift motion he pulled Bruce from between his legs and took him in a bear-hug, feeling the smaller boy shake with each wave of sobs until there were no more tears left to spend.

~oO0Oo~

After all of that, Bruce still managed to have some energy left in him to ask about what he missed in Physics. If that didn't tell you something about the guy, then Tony didn't know what would.

He explained how Selvig had told them that the research had been for future purposes. It was indeed to see what was out there, and what level they would probably work with someday soon. It was to give them some insight into what they could expect. And it was a great way of understanding future topics in class. Trying to understand something on your own through research and then later getting it explained in class was just a really good way to learn things. It was the way universities operated, and so the students had to get used to it.

They actually managed to do some homework, most of it in silence, but it didn't feel too strained. How that was, was a mystery to Tony.

Eventually they went to bed, at a relatively appropriate time (quarter past eleven – it could have been worse), but when Tony woke up in the middle of the night from Bruce's restrained sobbing, he thought for a moment – was he the guy to snuggle? Not really. But he felt like his friend needed it. So he walked over to the other boy's bed and wordlessly lay down next to him.

To his relief, Bruce didn't try to punch him again (his cheekbone was still throbbing) or cringe away, but instead turned around so he faced Tony, threw his arms around his roommate and pressed his wet face against Tony's chest, letting out all restraints he had most likely been building up here since he arrived in an attempt to keep a low profile and keep himself out of trouble.

Tony put his own arms around his friend too. They stayed like that for a while before Tony softly spoke. "Hey, Bruce? If you have these outbursts… How come you ran away the other day?" For a moment it was silent, until the smaller boy finally responded, equally softly: "I didn't want to hurt you."

_Okay, screw it, Tony was definitely a major snuggler._ Eventually they fell asleep like that, holding on to each other for dear life.

~oO0Oo~

A/N: A whole two votes came for more Sif and Loki (and I completely agree with you!) so there will be more fluff for them in chapter 7 :3 So, review, request, and have a nice day :)


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I wonder what you guys thought of chapter 4. You're more than welcome to tell me, you know, even if you really didn't like what I did. Seriously, the background stories are kind of a big thing in this story since they shaped every character. I would be eternally grateful if you told me what you think of them. This chapter contains some more gaybashing, a bit of violence and some swearing. Hope you enjoy :)

~oO0Oo~

Most of Friday had come and gone, leaving Tony with a _metric butt tonne_ of Maths and Biology homework, him being especially disgruntled with the last one. However, Bruce had joined him, Loki, Ian, Jane, Fitz and Simmons for making it together. There was already a clique forming, quite a big one too. These were just the ones who did level 3 Biology, but Pepper, Peggy, Thor, Darcy, Sif, and Steve were all a part of it as well. Bucky was still a case of doubt, since he was always there, hovering around Steve, but never really joining in. Pepper, who was especially fond of Natasha for some reason, wanted the Russian and her eternal companion Clint to join too, but the two tended to keep to themselves most of the time.

Tony was just happy to see all these friendships growing. He found himself growing quite fond of Steve, despite the boy's tendency to be Mr. Perfect. But it was nice to see the guy slowly feel more and more comfortable around others; that had definitely been different in the beginning.

But perhaps it was seeing Bruce come out of his shell what made him happiest. He genuinely cared about his roommate, and after their session the guy just seemed more comfortable and more trusting around other people. He seemed to be most fond of Steve (to Tony's slight jealousy – _okay, big jealousy, and where had _that_ come from?_), their mutual discomfort around strangers, slight shyness and gentle heart evidently bringing them closer.

But right now they were studying photosynthesis and the Calvin cycle, and Tony might just be a little bit _bored out of his mind_. But he didn't care; his body was pressed against Bruce's as they both bent forward to study the molecular structures up close, and he found their shared body heat surprisingly comforting. He could practically feel Loki's smile, though he wasn't quite sure whether it was genuine or cynical. He decided to just ignore it.

Darcy walked into the common room with Pepper on her side, the roommates talking animatedly – until they saw the studying group in the middle of the floor, that was.

"Aw, look at all the fluffiness," Darcy said playfully. Pepper just shook her head. "You guys are pathetic," she remarked. "Come on. It's Friday night. Leave the homework; we'll go and do something fun."

Loki raised his eyebrow. "And what exactly do you have in mind?" he drawled. Darcy just grinned. "Come on, sourpuss. We only wanted to watch some cartoons. I hear they're running a marathon of Phineas and Ferb on Disney Channel."

Jane had, to Darcy's great shock, never watched Phineas and Ferb, but Ian's and Fitz' enthusiasm was enough to balance out the lack of hers, so they decided to drop Biology and join the girls in the corner of the room, where a few armchairs, sofas and beanbags were situated around a large flat-screen TV. They were quickly joined by the rest of their group, including Natasha, Clint and Bucky. To Tony's surprise all three seemed to find it just as funny as he did and laughed quite often, even if it felt held back most of the times.

When the cartoons finally came to an end it was late enough for everyone to fall asleep right there and then, but they were all too lazy to actually get up and go to bed, so instead Steve took the remote and started lazily switching channels, even though most of it was either Tel Sell or the news.

"…lovely big circles on your -" "- comes in _fifteen_ different colours -" "- oil now truly running out?" "- great for any household -" "- aiming their missiles at -"

Darcy grabbed the remote. "Boring." Most of the group actually protested, since none of them had been following the news lately, but then the screen blipped and went black. "There. There's nothing on anyway."

Sif sighed. "Maybe we should go to bed."

For a moment it was silent, but then finally Clint got up and stretched. "Yeah, I think you have a point." He looked at the rest of the group. "Thanks for letting us join, guys. Really. It was nice." Steve shook his head. "Are you kidding? Of course we let you join. The TV is not an exclusive right, is it?" The other boy just shrugged. "Still." He stretched out his hand to help Natasha up. "Goodnight."

The others muttered their sleepy responses before stretching themselves and getting up as well, following to go to their own sleeping quarters.

Before they all disappeared into their rooms, Tony stopped Clint for a moment. "Hey," he said softly. "Don't worry about joining in, you know? I mean, you seem like a decent guy. Don't be afraid to walk up and join us in whatever we're doing. We don't bite."

Clint gave a small smile, but it didn't quite seem to reach his eyes. "Thanks, Tony. But I see things better from a distance. Coming close…" He seemed to calculate for a moment how much he could tell the other boy before speaking again. "It makes me feel uncomfortable. It's all just a bit _too_ close. But thanks. Maybe I will sometimes."

He clapped his hand on Tony's shoulder lightly before following Ian into the room and closing the door, leaving the other boy slightly confused in the dark hallway.

Tony stood there for a minute, then finally followed Bruce and went to bed as well.

~oO0Oo~

God it was good not to wake up with an alarm clock blaring next to your ear. Whoever invented the weekend would probably get a time-traveling Tony as a visitor one day and a lot of thanks.

Tony looked at his roommate, who was still asleep. He looked a lot younger, but somehow still… sad. Tony felt like going over and give Bruce a bear-hug to make it go away, but he decided to let the boy sleep – God knew he could use it.

Silently he slipped out of the room and walked down the hallway. To his surprise one of the rooms opened, and a boy he vaguely remembered being called Victor stepped out to lean against the wall with his arms crossed.

"Glad you two managed to keep it down this time," he sneered. Tony stopped dead in his tracks. "What?"

Victor pushed himself off the wall and stepped closer. "You know what I mean. You and Mr. Scholarship."

Tony narrowed his eyes and took a step closer too. "Okay, first of all, only I get to call Bruce nicknames. Second, that one was shitty, so you really should leave that privilege to me. And third: if you are implying anything, then don't be a coward about it and say it right to my face."

Victor grinned. "You want me to spell it out for you? You and Bruce, doing the dirty, banging the walls. Did you two break the bed? I wouldn't be surprised. And that kid has quite the lungs for an asthmatic. You really know how to make him scream, don't you? Does that mean he's the bottom? Does he enjoy taking it up the ass like the little slut that he is -"

Red vision, a flash, dull thud, crack, groan, and Victor was on the ground.

"Don't you dare. Don't you _fucking_ dare!" Tony fell down next to the boy and punched him again, on his cheek this time. Another punch landed in his stomach, making the guy cough and groan again.

Doors started to open now. Tony quickly got up, towering over Victor, and looked around a few times before speaking again.

"If I hear one more word like that from you, I will break your leg instead of your nose. And this goes for anyone else too. So you tell them. You tell them what you said to me, and you spread the word so they know what to keep their trap shut about. You got that?"

Victor looked up at the young billionaire, venom in his eyes. He spat out some blood that had run into his mouth. "Sure," he said softly. "But this isn't over."

Tony huffed and rolled Victor over roughly with his foot to face the wall instead of him. "Of course, buddy. Hop along now."

The boy got up, trying to hide his wince at the movement and failing. Tony could feel everyone's eyes on them as Victor turned around and pushed his roommate aside to go back inside and slam the door behind him.

That seemed to be the signal for everyone to start muttering amongst each other, the tension fading. Tony sighed and dragged his hand down his face. He could feel his heartbeat, and it didn't feel good at all.

When he turned around, he was once again standing face to face with Bruce. He gasped. _Damn, that hurt –_ He clutched his chest. "Oh shit, shit, damn it Bruce…" His vision became spotted, and he could just feel himself tilting to the ground before it became completely black.

~oO0Oo~

Tony woke up to a sea of white. _Great, so now I'm officially dead_, he thought bitterly. _And here I was hoping it wouldn't be the cliché white place but the virgin thing instead._

"Tony?"

The boy's head swivelled to the side so fast he saw spots again. "Bruce? But you're not dead…" "Okay, I think the nurse gave you _plenty_ of meds."

It would have been funny had the situation been different – like when Bruce _hadn't_ been the fault Tony nearly died. The other boy managed to crack a smile though, even if Bruce couldn't.

"Yeah, I feel kinda fuzzy, so you're probably right there." He chuckled and then groaned at the tightening in his chest. Bruce just gave him a timid look.

"You shouldn't have done it, Tony," he whispered. At hearing this Tony tried to move himself upward a bit more, but didn't get far without getting washed over with dizziness, so he quickly gave up. Instead he carefully grabbed Bruce's wrist. Bruce tried to pull away, but Tony was stronger, even under drugs.

"Hey, Bruce, look at me."

Bruce looked at him. There was something incredibly vulnerable in his eyes. "The overexcitement and me spooking you, it nearly killed you, Tony. You had a mild heart attack."

For a second he let those words sink in, as if only realising the full gravity of it now himself.

Then, he bit his lip and looked away. "And you're probably going to get in some big trouble for what you did as well. Fighting isn't tolerated. And Victor has a lot of influence with his wealth."

Tony scoffed. "Yeah, well, last time I heard, Von Doom Industries was failing and Victor's daddy was slowly going bankrupt. I think I have a little more wealth than him."

He stared ahead for a moment, trying to clear his thoughts from the drug-induced fog. When he knew again what he was going to say, he gave a little tug on Bruce's wrist. "I _did_ have to do it. I've got your back."

For a second, Bruce's eyes narrowed causing the light that hit them make them look green. _That's kind of beautiful_, was all Tony could think before Bruce brutally ripped his arm away from his roommate's touch.

"I don't want a fucking babysitter," he spat. "I don't need your help."

Tony quickly clambered out of bed, ignoring how the room spun around him, and walked over to Bruce as quickly as he could. "Bruce, come on -"

But the boy grabbed a glass decanter filled with water from the table next to him and hurled it at the wall.

"Just _leave me the fuck alone_! How often do you need me to say it!?"

Tony, who was now nearly falling over, grabbed Bruce again and threw all his limbs around the still ridiculously strong boy. Bruce tried to struggle out of Tony's grip, but to no avail.

"A thousand more times at least," the taller boy whispered.

"I will always have your back, Bruce. It's not a question of babying or coddling. I care about you, and I'm not just gonna stand by and watch as they insult you."

Bruce's breath hitched as tears once again came streaming down his cheeks. Tony put a hand on the back of his head and let his fingers slide through his friend's soft hair. "I will always have your back."

~oO0Oo~

A/N: So, Bruce and Tony are really growing closer to each other! Anyway, review, request, and have a nice day :)


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Okay, my updating is going a bit quickly right now, if my writing speed continues like this I might have to slow the updates down, back to once a week.. But for now, let us rejoice at the new chapter update! We'll get some more info on some people again, yay! (No warnings for this chapter, apart from slightly coarse language.)

~oO0Oo~

Tony actually had to stay overnight in the medical wing, but luckily Bruce brought him his pills and some books. Tony could see his roommate didn't want to stay; shame and guilt were rolling off him in waves. So the young billionaire decided to give some advice. It was a complete shot in the dark, since he wasn't exactly a people-person and probably wouldn't even follow the advice himself that he was about to give, but he had to do _something_.

"Hey, look, Specs. I can see you're feeling uncomfortable. You don't have to stay." Bruce looked up. "But?"

Tony worked himself upwards a little. "But I want you to go and talk to someone. Not me if you don't want to, I get it if you don't want be near me for a while. But I do think you need to get some stuff off your chest. Because your anger can spike way too easily. And one day someone will get hurt."

Bruce swallowed. "Yeah."

A painful silence stretched between them for a minute before Bruce finally found his words again. "You got any suggestions? Because there is a councilwoman -" "Who is that?" "Ms. Hill, deputy headmaster," Bruce responded. "She keeps an eye on the students. I've seen her in the hallway a couple of times. Haven't you?"

Tony shook his head. Maybe he had seen her, but he had no idea who she was. "Yeah, well, you're probably going to have to talk to either her or Mr. Fury about the fight," Bruce said. Tony shrugged. "Well, I don't know who she is. But someone who is supposed to be a counsellor and just fulfils that job description by looking at students in the hallway doesn't sound like the right person to me."

"She does talk to students, has one-on-one sessions with them," Bruce explained. Tony shook his head again. "I don't know who she is, and so far she has done nothing to gain my trust."

"So who do you suggest?"

Tony thought for a moment. "To be honest, I have no friggin' clue," he said finally. "But someone from our group. Just anyone you feel comfortable with, someone you think will get it." Bruce nodded. "Thanks, Tony. Really."

He left the room, only stopping for a moment to hold the door open for Pepper and Peggy (because those two wouldn't be seen separate these days) who were sneaking in.

~oO0Oo~

"James?"

Bucky looked up from his homework. "Bruce?" He looked surprised at being approached, which was only to be expected; he'd been pushing everyone away ever since he came here. He decided not to be a dick and just give in to get the smaller boy on his way as soon as possible. "What do you need?"

Bruce took off his glasses and polished them with his shirt. "Can we… I don't know, ehm, talk?"

Okay, definitely not what Bucky expected. He looked around for a moment. Steve was in their room, reading up for Literature. He gave a little sigh. "'Kay. Let's find somewhere quiet. I don't like people being able to overhear any of my conversations."

Bruce nodded, and together they walked to Bruce's and Tony's room. They entered, and the younger boy closed the door behind him, then sat down on his bed, back against the wall, arms around his knees. Bucky sat down on the desk chair, seemingly uncertain about what to say or do.

"To be honest, I'm doing this because Tony asked me to," Bruce said after a short silence. "He asked me to talk to someone. Someone I felt I could trust, or at least who would understand how I'm feeling."

Bucky swallowed. People didn't trust him. Or they didn't care enough to think of him as trustworthy. But to be honest, that _was_ basically his own fault. "What makes me so special?" he said, his voice to his regret slightly rougher.

Bruce looked at the older boy for a moment. "I'm not sure," he said eventually. "But you don't really talk to others. So I guess you won't tell them what will go down between us today. That and something else. But I really don't know what that is. A… feeling, I guess."

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Bucky just sat back and listened.

"I have… anger management issues. To put it lightly." He huffed before continuing. "It's done me no good so far, and I'm scared I will one day hurt someone I care about."

Bucky gave him an intense look. "You have hurt someone already, haven't you? Someone you didn't like."

Bruce swallowed. His eyes pricked, but there were no tears. "My dad," he managed to bring out eventually. Bucky nodded. "What happened?" But the shorter boy shook his head at this. "All I'm willing to say is that Jen, my cousin, had to step in and help me. She's a lawyer." His gaze drifted to the floor. For a moment he feared he had given away too much, that Bucky would get up and leave him, appalled and furious. Instead, the older boy spoke up, his voice level and strong.

"I take it he had it coming then."

Bruce looked up, swallowing again, then nodded. Bucky gave a grim smile. "Yeah, that does make it difficult to break the violent streak."

The younger boy shifted. "I don't do it because of 'justice' or anything. I just snapped."

Bucky nodded. "But it worked. Your dad had it coming, and you took care of it. And you've done it more often, because it helped you then and maybe it'll help you again. It has become an automatic defence system."

Bruce gave a small smile. "You too huh?" Bucky huffed and shook his head. "Nah," he responded softly. "My anger management is fine. But when it comes to protecting the ones I care about…"

The younger boy waited for a moment, but Bucky didn't continue. "I don't want to push you," he said, "but it would make me feel a lot better if you would open up too. Just a little."

Bucky sighed and nodded. "Yeah, sorry. Ehm, me and Steve have a bit of a… turbulent background. He got himself into something dangerous, and I followed him to protect him. But then I had to do things I didn't like."

He was silent for a moment, then continued talking. "But I saved his life. I actually saved his life on several occasions. And it made me…" He thought for a moment and grunted in frustration. "Ugh, I don't know. I'd say colder, because it made the things I did easier. But it was all from caring about Steve, you know."

He gave a shaky laugh as he ran his hand through his half-long hair. "Actually, no. We went through so much shit together, we both have some pretty big traumas. But actually I still feel like the biggest fucking monster in the universe, for everything I did and then saying it was out of _protection_ for the one guy I care most about, or because I was pushed or manipulated into it. As if those were acceptable excuses. Because nothing can excuse what I did. Even everything that happened to me, to _us_.

"And now I'm being a dick to everyone who gets too close to Steve or me. Especially Tony, because that guy just seems like he doesn't really know boundaries. And I don't want him to hurt or freak out Steve. But who am I to decide, you know? Steve actually does need some friends, some human contact besides me."

There was a short silence before Bucky spoke again, softly, as if confessing. "I might be the only one who knows what he's been through, but that doesn't give me the right to claim him to myself. I'm fucked up. I'm no good for him, maybe even the worst person possible for him."

For a moment it was silent. Bruce nodded. "Yeah. I feel pretty damn horrible too. For the whole guilt reasons too I guess. But also because I did it out of self-preservation. I've never had anyone else to protect, apart from my mum. But by the time I stood up for her, it was already way too late. It was more standing up for myself."

A beat.

"I let her down."

He swallowed. Now there were tears pricking in his eyes. _Damn it._

Both boys sat like that for a while. Eventually Bucky got up. "Thank Stark from me, Bruce. That actually might have been good for both our sanities." The lump in his throat was audible, but he didn't care.

Bruce smiled. "Yeah. Thank you, James."

For a moment the older boy stood in the doorway before looking back and giving a small smile. "I don't think you let your mum down. You're smart. Okay, so you made mistakes, but you know about them, and you're moving on and improving in life."

He gave a little nod. "And you can call me Bucky."

And with that, he left.

Bruce stared at the wall opposite him. All of this had left the thoughts and emotions tumbling through his head.

It was good to know why he was still troubled by his anger, despite seeming so docile and not wanting to be angry. But the thing was, he was just angry _all the time_. He was angry at what life had done to him, at what people had said to him. But mostly he was angry at himself, for all the times he had fucked up. For stepping up to his dad too late. For being a coward, for being weak.

But this school was a clean slate. He was starting to make friends, people who seemed willing to stand beside him.

That, and knowing himself just a little better, might just help him in getting rid of it once and for all. Or at least, he hoped so.

He looked up at the ceiling and prayed for at least a normal Sunday.

~oO0Oo~

A/N: And so another chapter has been read by you, my lovely readers! Please, review, request (check out my profile for what I will be willing to write - smut is definitely an option, even though it is not in this story) and have a nice day :)


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: FInally, a happy chapter! This one might be my favourite so far. And as requested, some Sif/Loki fluff!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Nor do I own any of the music I mention in this fic (though I do have the albums). Also, I used a quotation from the book Cloud Atlas, written by the glorious David Mitchell. Not mine either, though I own a copy. (That book is stunning. If you don't feel like reading it, watch the film. So, so beautiful.)

~oO0Oo~

"The prodigal son returns!"

Tony laughed as he walked back into the common room. Pepper flew around his neck and gave him a big sloppy kiss on the cheek. He quickly pulled away, pulling a face. "Ugh, Pepper, that's gross. I don't even know where those lips have been!"

Behind her, Peggy raised her eyebrow with a playful twinkle in her eyes. He laughed again and shook his head. "And I really don't need to know. I would much rather go without that visual in my mind, thank you very much."

Clint came over and clapped him on the back. "It's been too silent in your absence," he said with a smile. Tony looked at him in surprise. "I thought you didn't mingle?" The other boy shook his head. "Not really, no, but still, there was just very little happening. Nothing entertaining to watch unfold, you know?"

Tony laughed and nodded. "Yeah, life of the party, that's me. When I'm in the mood, that is."

Bruce frowned. "Don't you have to talk to Mr. Fury?" His roommate shrugged. "Another board meeting. I'm going to see him and Ms. Hill tomorrow. Which means I can join the celebrations of me being alive and having kicked ass!"

The group cheered, but Tony ignored them and walked towards Bruce. "Did you talk to someone?" His roommate nodded. "I spoke to Bucky."

_Oh-kay…_

"Bucky?"

"Yeah. He's actually an okay guy, you know. He just has his reasons for the way he's acting. He's having a pretty tough time with himself too. So, yeah."

Tony huffed. "Must have been an intimate conversation for you to be on nickname basis now."

Bruce frowned at him. "Tony, _you_ were the one to tell me to do this. So what is your problem now?" The other boy shook his head. "Nothing, forget it. I'm drugged up."

The younger boy gave him another look, but decided to drop it. Tony in the meantime turned back to the group. "So, who has an idea for what we can do today?"

Another surprise – Natasha was the one who pushed herself off from the table she was leaning against. "Well, I saw Steve and Bucky head out earlier to play baseball. And even if you don't want to join, the weather is amazing."

Tony clapped his hands. "Baseball it is!"

Natasha was right; the weather was perfect. There were no clouds, and the sun was nice and warm. With all the work and classes they had all sort of forgotten that it was actually still summer.

After a quick change of outfit for some of them, they all ran out together to meet Steve and Bucky in the field behind the sleeping quarters, where they were chucking a ball at each other. It was a little strange to see Bucky like that, slightly more relaxed, but Bruce figured it was because he wanted to loosen up, him and Steve both.

Tony put down some speakers he had tinkered with and turned on That's Alright by The Kidney Brothers, a nice and slow blues to go with the lazy weather, to then join Steve and Bucky and get himself warmed up a little.

He was quickly joined by Thor, Clint, Natasha (who looked _way_ too hot in her yoga pants and tank top), Jane, who was aided by Thor in learning how to swing the bat properly, a very enthusiastic Fitz, Peggy, and Ian, who looked slightly hesitant, but also like he wanted to prove himself to a certain female individual. Darcy just went to lie down in her bikini, soaking up the sunshine and winking cheerfully at him.

She was joined in her sunbathing by Pepper and Simmons. Loki and Sif went to the side a little, where Loki could lean against a young apple tree with a book while Sif went to lie down next to him, sunbathing as well while listening to his smooth voice reading out the story to her. Bruce went to sit down next to the girls with his Physics homework, which he still had to catch up on. He didn't mind though; he loved the subject far too much.

As the music changed to something more upbeat, the teams started getting themselves ready to kick each other's asses.

Loki didn't pay too much attention to them, being too absorbed in his own little bubble that included nothing but the warmth of the sun, his book and Sif. She was wearing her bikini as well, and while the words flowed off his tongue the fingers of his free hand were trailing down her bare back, painting invisible symbols and causing goose bumps to follow. She was humming so softly it was almost nothing but a breath, but it made him smile.

"_Sixsmith,_

_Summer has taken a sensuous turn: Ayrs's wife and I are lovers. Don't alarm yourself! Only in the carnal sense. One night last week she came to my room, locked the door behind her and, without a word passing between us, disrobed. Don't wish to brag, but her visit didn't take me by surprise. In fact, I'd left the door ajar for her. Really, Sixsmith, you should try to enjoy love-making in total silence. All that ballyhooing transmutes into bliss if you'll only seal your lips._"

Loki could practically feel Sif smile under the tips of his fingers.

The name of this school was aptly chosen; Shield Academy. It did truly feel like that, like here he was shielded from all the darkness and sorrow and pain he had been through, the fear and despair. Granted, he was sure some of his classmates had gone through more than he had, but it had still been quite bad for him.

His father had stood between him and every person he had ever truly cared about. He had kept him from his mother as often as possible (why that was would likely stay a mystery to him for the rest of his life), he had cast shadows between him and his brother, he had forbidden him from being with Sif.

But now Loki was here with her. They were safe from his father, from his mad grandfather, from the pain of his past, from titles and duties and expectations. Here he could be Loki, brother, friend, lover, _himself_, without anyone looking down on him for it. He finally felt safe.

Sif shifted her back as if to make him continue stroking and reading, but instead he leaned in and pressed his lips against the small of her back, trailing his soft kisses upward until he reached her face, where he finally kissed her on the mouth.

She sat up to press herself against him properly. After a few minutes, they broke away from each other again. "What was that for?" she asked with a smile. He smiled back and pressed his lips against hers again for a moment. "I'm happy," he finally answered.

They were suddenly woken from their trance by loud whooping and a furious yell of Tony, who threw his glove to the ground and shouted "NO! You totally cheated on that one!"

Natasha just smirked and approached him with swaying hips. "Oh yeah, Stark? You wanna switch with Fitz, let me run again and see if you can actually see me _cheat_ up close? See if you can do it better?"

The young billionaire swallowed hard. "Eh, yeah, sure, let's go for it," he said, trying to sound casual but failing miserably. Natasha laughed. "Fitz, think you can pitch?" The boy nodded and quickly walked over to Tony, leaving his own base open for the other boy to take.

Natasha gave a quick nod to Steve, who was batting for her since she hurt her shoulder during PE. The older boy nodded back and readied himself for the incoming ball.

Fitz turned out to be a truly horrible pitcher. They were unsure what happened exactly, the ball shot upward instead of into the distance, putting it right within Tony's reach when it would fall down.

He put his arm up, squinting against the bright light, moving back and forth. "I've got it, I've got it!" "Tony, look out!" "No, Pep, it's fine -"

Just as he was about to catch it he collided with a body. Both people went flying, and when Tony finally came out of his disorientation, he realised he was lying on top of Natasha, her tank top rolled up high enough to reveal most of her back.

His eyes became big as he scrambled backwards from her. "Shit, Natasha, sorry, I didn't…"

She huffed loudly. "Yeah, no shit you didn't see me. Wow. Well fucking done, Tony."

She might have said a few other things, but Tony didn't really hear it anymore. Instead he was staring at her exposed skin – and _no_, not for that reason.

She was covered in scars, just like Clint, Steve and Bucky. Except these were different. There was only one bullet wound, but other than that it looked like lashes, stripes, maybe even some serious skin damage. Most of it was almost completely faded, which meant she must have gotten them at a young age. Now there was a disturbing thought.

She came up really close to him, her gaze full of venom. "Enjoying the view, Stark?" she hissed. He blinked. "Well mostly I'm just shocked." She seemed to be thrown back by this direct honesty. He looked her in the eyes, his own face serious as he softly asked: "Are you alright?"

For a split second it was as if he was looking at a child. Something had fallen away, showing something incredibly _bare_ and vulnerable. But then it was back again. "I'm fine," she responded. "You're really not as heavy as you look."

And with that joke the tension was broken again, though there was still something in her gaze. Loki could see it from a distance; it was anger at both Tony and herself for getting so exposed for a moment, but it was also just the tiniest hint of appreciation for his care, even if he didn't always know how to portray it properly. Loki was fairly sure that Tony couldn't see it himself, the confusion on his face being proof of that.

The redhead turned around, her ponytail almost whipping in Tony's face. She walked over to Clint, a smile plastered on her face, continuing to assure him that she was fine. Loki knew though that those two would have an intense conversation tonight.

Sif positioned herself to properly sit next to him, brushing some of his hair out of his face and behind his eyes. He was going to need another haircut again soon, or start tying it together like Bucky did.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly. He nodded, his eyes distant. "Yes, darling, I'm fine," he answered. "I just… understand her anger." Sif sighed and took his chin in her hand. "Would _you_ get angry like that? If this had happened to you?"

Loki frowned a little. "I'm not sure. I might. It's _my_ past, not anyone else's to judge or mock or question."

Sif pressed her lips against his softly, then pulled back again to capture his gaze again. "People will always question your scars, even if they don't ask or 'don't want to know'. Just as they automatically judge everything. But Loki…"

His gaze had wandered, so she quickly recaptured it. "They will _not_ mock. And if they do, they will have me and Thor to answer for. And I'm sure they will have these people too." She didn't have to point or look at who she meant; Loki understood perfectly.

"So please, wear your scars the way you want, with pride, with indifference, or as a weight on your mind, but don't lash out at other people for looking. It simply happens. Just remember that these are your scars – _our_ scars. They tell our story, and they make you who you are today, they put us where we are right now. And where we are is not such a bad place, now, is it?"

He smiled. "No, it's not."

He looked ahead again. "Our scars. Our story. They are a part of us, and no-one could take them away.

"And you're right. They are a good thing too. Because they are a part of us, and we are good, aren't we?" He smiled again. "I won't let anyone take them away if they tried."

After a moment of sitting there together, they stood up and went over to the other people who were not participating in the game, which had now seemingly turned into some weird baseball/the floor is lava hybrid. Together, they chatted about nonsense and their school subjects while occasionally watching the others mess about and falling on their faces every now and then.

All in all, best day so far.

~oO0Oo~

A/N: Sadly we won't see that conversation between Nat and Clint. I want to keep them a bit of a mystery, since most of this story is from Tony's POV. But please, if you want more fluff between some characters, tell me! Request, review, and have a nice day :)


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I'm so sorry for not updating last Wednesday, but I have been busy with college and neglecting my writing and I'm catching up on myself... So yeah, this might get updated just once a week for now, though hopefully that'll change back to biweekly again soon. You'll notice :) Warnings: bullying, gaybashing.

~oO0Oo~

It was during English Literature that Tony got the note to go to the Headmaster's office after his last class. Clint, who was sitting three rows behind him, hit him square in the back of the head with a crumpled note that read: _Good luck. Don't count on me and Nat to pay for your funeral._

Tony scrunched up his face in mock amusement at the two before getting scorned for not paying attention, something he found seriously unfair since Loki was just sitting in a corner reading what looked like the complete works of Shakespeare instead of listening to the teacher. _Talk about the teacher's pet._ Loki seemed to feel Tony's glare, because he quickly glanced up and gave the younger boy a smirk and a wink before going back to his monster of a book.

The young billionaire huffed. "I have no friends here," he muttered. "Zero sympathy." Bruce, who was sitting next to him, gave him a small nudge with his arm. "Hey, there's always me," he said friendly. "I'm more than willing to spend the six bucks I own on your funeral after your meeting with Fury."

Tony was about to make an indignant remark but before he could he was already sent out of class to "cool down in the hallway". He knew protocol would usually have him sent to the Headmaster's office, but since he was going there anyway he would just have to wait outside the classroom until the class was over and receive a note from the teacher to pass on.

Usually he could take a joke, but today he was just not having it. Still fuming at all the bullshit he sank down against the wall, not in the mood to do something rebellious that might get him into further trouble.

When he heard soft footsteps approaching, Tony quickly composed himself to look less like a sulking toddler. To his surprise it was Bucky who came walking around the corner, the sunlight that came streaming through the windows glinting off his metal arm.

"Why aren't you in class?" Tony asked. "And where is Steve?" So far he had never seen the two without the other within eyesight. Bucky gave a small smile. "I could ask you the same, you know."

Tony groaned and let his head fall against the wall. "Got kicked out for not paying attention," he answered. "'Cause this way I will actually miss much less of what is told in class." Sarcasm dripped off his words, and Bucky's smile widened a little. He brushed his normal hand through his hair. "The school system is kind of messed up." Tony huffed. "Yeah, you can say that again."

He brought his head back up a little. "So what about you? Why aren't you in there, enjoying the joy of Dickens' _Hard Times_?" He chuckled a little at the slightly juvenile thoughts that choice of words put in his head. Bucky shook his head. "Wow, you really are the most mature of the bunch aren't you?" Tony shrugged. "Call it a gift."

The older boy leant against the wall. "Well, I was going to go in, but then I came across you. So you're holding me up right now." Tony rolled his eyes. "Okay, sure, but even without me you're ridiculously late. It's the third class of the day. So where were you? Having a lie-in?"

Bucky shook his head, his face becoming a bit more serious. "Steve actually managed to get a heatstroke from yesterday," he replied. "I didn't want to leave until I was sure he would be okay."

Tony mulled this over for a moment.

"Yeah, fair enough," he said eventually.

After another silence he spoke up again. "So do you love the guy?"

This made Bucky frown. "Eh, to be honest, I really don't know how to answer that. Besides, not really a topic I feel free to talk about in the middle of the hall." "Yeah, fair enough," Tony said again.

They stayed like that for another moment, Bucky showing no signs of leaving Tony to catch the last ten minutes of class.

Eventually Tony cleared his throat. "So, ehm, Bruce told me you were actually quite a decent guy. That you were being a dickwad for a reason." Bucky seemed to wince at this, evidently not feeling very good about being seen as an unpleasant guy, despite his attitude.

"You don't really read people well, Stark," he spoke. "You don't realise where their boundaries lie. You crossed a line already with Steve once." Tony thought back to the moment where he nearly caused the blond guy to nearly have a panic attack, guilt washing over him for a moment.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," he said softly. Bucky nodded. "Yeah, well. I try to protect Steve. I try to keep people at a distance. It's not that he doesn't trust them or can't handle them touching him, but… Well, actually, no, he doesn't trust them. He finds putting trust into people difficult these days. Even when it used to be so different. And the touching, well, he can be touched. He just doesn't really like it. But then you went all out and hugged him, which is just way too much physical contact. And you physically trapped him too. You're lucky he didn't punch you and press you to the ground."

He sighed. "But even so I shouldn't keep people at a distance, you know," he muttered. "If I keep Steve away from any human contact besides me he's never going to get his trust in them back."

For a moment the silence hung heavily between them, but then a figure came around the corner.

As soon as he saw who the two boys in the hallway were, Victor stopped dead in his tracks. Then, a grin crept on his face.

"Well, well, well, look who it is, the possessive boyfriend and the mistress of our little Scholarship Twink," he drawled. "Did you know, Stark? That your little boyfriend is such a little slut? That he already cheated on you with Mr. Prosthetic over there?"

Tony felt his rage surge to the surface. But to his slight terror, it wasn't white-hot. It was a cold rage, one that kept his mind immaculately clear. It was a side of himself he didn't know yet, a side that scared him.

Those emotions didn't get much room though; the rage was too present. "I thought I told you to keep that disgusting mouth shut," he spoke matter-of-factly. This made Victor laugh and wince a little at the same time to Tony's glee. _Good. Still suffering from his bruises._

"Actually, Stark, you told me the exact opposite." At that moment, two more people came around the corner. Tony recognised them as Sebastian Shaw, A-class asshole, and Emma Frost, B-class bitch. _Shit. Outnumbered._

"You told me to spread the word. To tell people what I told you and what you did to me for it."

Tony should have just walked away as soon as he had left the classroom. It would have gotten him in a whole lot less trouble than he would get into now.

Victor took a step closer, the two people at his sides joining him with a smile. There was nothing about them that would remind Tony of grunts like Crabbe and Goyle in Harry Potter – these were intelligent, independent, cruel people with no conscience. _Shit, shit, shit._

"And I found some people who thought I was in the right while you were in the wrong."

The classroom door opened suddenly; an early dismissal.

Half the class didn't realise what was happening and just walked to the hub to get food, talking excitedly. However, the group from yesterday did notice.

It was only now that Tony realised that Bucky had actually been standing right next to him, almost in a fighting stance. They were quickly joined by the rest of the group, creating a formation that might even be able to intimidate Coulson – although, that guy was pretty hard-core. Never mind. It was enough to make the trio across from them look like they were on the verge of shitting themselves though, and that was enough for now.

Bruce came to stand by Tony's side, and the taller boy took his friend's hand. "What was that you were saying about my boyfriend again?" He felt Bruce's hand trying to tug away, but he gripped it tightly. Victor just shook his head. "Fucking queers," he muttered.

Thor's voice was audible even from the back. "Sorry, but I didn't quite catch that. Could you repeat yourself, please?"

Tony could feel the smirk spread on his face as the three idiots at the other end of the hallway seemed to shrink away. "This isn't over!" Victor hissed as they retreated. Tony just laughed. "I've heard that one before," he shouted after them. "Wasn't much that came from it!"

He turned back to the group that was standing behind him.

"Besides – who would be stupid enough to mess with a group of friends as big and strong as this?"

At that, his friends all cheered and massed together for a ginormous group hug with him in the middle. "Can't… breathe…" he heaved from the mass of bodies. With a laugh they let go again, Clint mussing up his hair.

"Nearly had to plan your funeral earlier there, Stark," he remarked. "I wouldn't have had the time, classes to attend and stuff like that." "Shut up, Legolas," Tony muttered with a fierce blush on his face.

Clint raised his eyebrows. "Legolas?" "Yeah," Tony responded, "_Legolas, what do your elf eyes see?_ You know?" No response. "Lord of the Rings?" Still nothing. "DUDE! No LotR? That's just sad! Next weekend, we'll hold a marathon." Thor nodded. "Of course, Stark. Whatever you say. You're the hero of the day today, so I think we owe that to you."

~oO0Oo~

That was of course not the end of the day for them. Tony still had to go back into the classroom and receive his note from the dickhead teacher, Mr. Ward.

Right before he left the classroom, he was called back _again_.

"Mr. Stark?"

_Ugh._

"Yes, sir?"

The dark-haired man sighed. "I wanted to point out that I saw your display, of you _and_ your friends. I think it was good of all of you to stand up to such behaviour, and Mr. Von Doom, Mr. Shaw and Ms. Frost will be punished."

_Oh._ That was actually quite a nice thing to say.

"I want to tell you as well that you shouldn't push it, the power that comes with having such a large group to back you up. Don't become too cocky. And please don't think that it will make you immune."

And _that_ was a little weird.

"Ehm, yeah, thanks sir. I'll… keep it in mind."

With that Tony was dismissed. He ran to the hub where his friends were waiting for him with a hot potatoes and chicken lunch, still talking excitedly amongst themselves. Tony went to sit down next to Bruce, who at that moment nearly choked on his sandwich.

Darcy patted him on the back while grinning at the young billionaire. "I always knew you were just a soft adorable love puppy underneath that humongous ego," she said conversationally. Tony shrugged and offered his roommate a glass of water. "Yeah, I'm pretty awesome, I know. Good guy as well as intelligent, and all that." Pepper snorted at that, but Tony just threw his napkin at her.

"So what did Ward say to you?" Ian asked. He had only half been paying attention to his surroundings when Tony had walked in on them, too busy frowning at a small half-drawn blueprint.

"I will tell you," the billionaire responded, "_if_ you show me what kind of awesome little thing you have there."

Ian showed him the drawing. "Jane asked me to take a look at it, see if I could improve it. It's one of her projects. No idea what it does. Which makes it a little more difficult. But I feel like I could do something here…" He pointed at what seemed to be the head of the thing.

Tony squinted at it for a moment before nodding. "Good instincts you got there. You're right, you could definitely use some atom action." "Yeah, but there's very little space," Ian said. "It's not a big machine." To both their surprises, Bruce shrugged. "Neither is the X-Ray machine at the dentist's."

Ian's eyes started shining, and with a quick nod of his head he drew in some diagrams, immediately impressing Tony. Damn, people really were geniuses here. Or maybe Tony was just easily impressed these days.

"But to come back to your question," he spoke, "Ward said he'd make sure those dicks would get their just desserts. And he gave me some weird cryptic warning. I really don't know what to make of that guy."

He sighed and gave Bruce a little nudge. "Told you I'd always have your back." The smile that broke through on his roommate's face was all he did it for. He smiled back, but the smile quickly faltered and he sighed again.

"I just hope Fury and Hill are a bit more sane than Ward. Or Coulson. Or Selvig."

For a moment he frowned.

"Do you think all our teachers might be mildly insane?"

~oO0Oo~

A/N: Yay, friendships building everywhere! Anyway, review, request, and have a nice day :)


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I just couldn't help myself, I had to upload! I'm still catching up on my writing though. Damn, I really need to step up my game. Thank you liquidanxiety and Guest for your reviews, I love and cherish them! And Guest, you are completely right, I need to add more Bruce. And I will! But not in this chapter. Now, onwards to some plot development and Tony-exploration - it's time for his appointment with Fury...

~oO0Oo~

Tony could hear voices coming from the office. They sounded heated, and the temptation to eavesdrop – what? No, _accidentally overhear_ it was simply too big to ignore, especially for someone like Tony.

"We _cannot_ send anyone away! What are we Shield Academy for if we can't even protect our own?" That sounded like Coulson.

A rougher voice responded. "Are you going against my orders, Coulson?"

"No Sir, you haven't given any orders. Yet. I am simply speaking up against what you are suggesting."

"So you are defying my authority."

A woman's voice, calm and controlled, mingled. "This was supposed to be a meeting, Director, not an announcement. I believe Phil is more than entitled to expressing his opinion. And I have to say that I agree wholeheartedly with him."

Tony could almost _feel_ Fury's glare.

Someone quickly stepped in again to keep the peace.

"Look, Director. We're not rising up against you." That was Ward. "But this school has a purpose. Both children and young adults come here for solace, protection, safety. Some of them have been dumped here. And we can't just ship them off, I have to agree with Phil and Melinda there. This place is not that well-known and neither is its location, so it's highly unlikely that we will be a target."

_Eh, hold on – what?_

"And if you still want to ship some students off, whether for their protection or to make sure this place can stay up and running, I think some of them will not stay here anyway. Judging by the behaviour I've seen -"

"Hold on just a second."

Footsteps sounded, and Tony quickly scrambled away from the door. It was opened by a stern-looking yet gorgeous woman with blue eyes and brown hair that was pulled back into a short ponytail. She seemed familiar, and Tony suddenly realised this must be Ms. Hill, who had been stalking the hallways.

"Mr. Stark."

A sarcastic smile broke through on his face. "Ms. Hill."

He could now see into the office; nearly all the teachers had gathered. Director Fury got up. "If you would excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Stark had an appointment with myself and Ms. Hill. So I think we will suspend this meeting for now."

The teachers left the room, and Ms. Hill stepped aside to let Tony in. The door hadn't even closed behind him before he turned to the Director.

"Is the school going to be closed?"

Something in Fury's face shifted, though it wasn't quite clear what since one of his eyes was covered by a black leather eye patch.

"It is not, Mr. Stark."

"Good. Because I've seen completely dysfunctional people making friends and coming out of their shells here. If we were to be broken up from each other, it could seriously damage some of us. And that's just one issue. Some of us have nowhere to go."

Fury went to sit down behind his desk again and gestured for Tony to sit opposite him. Hill went to sit down at the side.

"We realise this, Mr. Stark, even more than you."

"Oh, do you? Because I am the one who sees them every day, who talks to them all the time."

"Mr. Stark," Fury interrupted, "we know where they come from. We know their backgrounds. Their stories. Ms. Hill here talks to them too. Do _you_ know what they have been through?"

Tony was silent for a moment, though annoyance was rising within him. No, he didn't know. He barely knew anything. He wasn't going to mention that, though.

"Mr. Stark -"

"I swear to God, if you call me that one more time I will take that eye patch and shove it where the sun doesn't shine!"

Fury's face blanked, and Tony immediately realised he had gone _way_ over the line. Was Bruce's explosive personality rubbing off on him? He quickly shook off that thought. _No way._ His roommate only made him feel happy and calm. It was most likely just the stress of today and what he had just overheard.

Speaking of that… It wasn't just those who had seemed dysfunctional that he cared about. Bruce couldn't go back home. He couldn't go anywhere. Tony didn't _want_ him to go anywhere. He needed his science bro.

It was a small realisation, but it still managed to hit him with the force of a freight train – he needed Bruce as much, maybe if not even more, than Pepper.

And if they were going to close the school, he could lose his friend. And he wouldn't know what to do. He would be lost, like a child that could barely swim and that had just been thrown in the middle of the ocean.

Ms. Hill spoke up, her voice surprisingly soft. "Would breaking up your group damage you as well?"

"No."

A moment.

_Yes._

His breath hitched as he began to shake. _Shit, shit shit shit, yes it would, yes it would, shit…_

To his relief, the two adults gave him a moment to gather himself. When he had finally caught his breath again, Fury spoke up.

"We only know the objective details of our pupils' past, and that is what we have to work with. That and one-on-one sessions between them and Maria here. And since only a week has passed, there haven't been many of those. So you're right. We can't know certain things that you _do_ know.

"But we know of the issues, and we are doing our best to work on them. We do our best. But you need to realise that sometimes we can't do everything."

Tony huffed. "Damn right. Wasn't expecting that in the first place anyway."

Fury and Hill exchanged a glance before Hill took out a file and opened it. Tony could see printed on the cover in black letters **Stark, T.** Well, this should be interesting.

"Volatile," she read out. "Self-obsessed. Doesn't play well with others. Overly dependent and 'clingy'. Has trust issues and seems to have a special hate for authority."

She closed the file again and looked at Tony. "You don't trust adults, Tony. But you are mentally not old enough nor are you experienced enough to take charge yourself."

Tony was about to protest, but Hill saw this and interrupted him. "Who will run Stark Industries once you are old enough?"

For a moment he wanted to say he would. But would he?

_No._ He would have a workshop. He would be inventing and tinkering and occasionally speak to the press. Pepper would do all the paperwork and administration and meetings. She would be in charge while he would be the child playing with his building blocks.

"You see my point," Hill said. "You must be able to give someone else authority, Tony. Put your trust in someone else to take care of you."

"Well, now, I would love to, but it seems no-one is actually competent enough," he sneered, staring at Fury. The man got up. "I told you, Stark, I'm doing what I can here."

"Yeah, and my name is Nobody," Tony spat back. He turned to Hill. "But who said I don't play well with others and have trust issues and all that other crap? I would willingly put my life in Pepper's hands. Same goes for Bruce. And I have been making homework in groups, I've played baseball with my friends. So what are you on about exactly?"

Hill's gaze was relentless. "Two people you are clamping onto in an almost unhealthy way. That's who you trust. And when it comes to making homework with your groups, how often do you take charge? How often do you try and bend the rules to your own will with some snarky remark?"

Another short silence fell, and Tony cursed inwardly. He had absolutely nothing to say to that. _Damn, really need to work on my comebacks._

"Okay, but I'm not self-obsessed. The world isn't completely about me. Unless you think it is."

"Cut the crap, Stark, I'm trying to have a mature conversation with you here. You might be seventeen but we do try and treat you as an equal as much as we can."

Tony huffed again, but Hill ignored him. "You draw people to you. Pepper and Bruce, they are yours, and no-one can touch them. They are there for _you_, to make _you_ happy. They are of importance to you."

"And I am not to them? Come on, isn't that how human relationships work?" Hill just stared at him again. "Perhaps you should ask them before you start assuming things."

Tony swallowed. His mind went back to that moment he stood up to Victor and his gang, taking Bruce's hand, calling the guy his boyfriend. He remembered Bruce trying to pull away. At the moment he had thought it was because he made the guy feel awkward, and he had held on because he wanted to know he cared about Bruce, enough to say such a thing in public.

Now though, he wasn't sure if it had been his most brilliant idea.

Why did he always manage to screw things up?

"But I protected Bruce," he said, softly now, losing some of that anger. "I stood up to those guys. I've got his back. You can't say that was all just about me."

To his surprise, Hill smiled. "You're right. And I don't. This file was written before school started. You're making progress, Tony."

Suddenly, Fury spoke up, causing Tony to jump. He had almost completely forgotten the man was even there.

"That doesn't mean however that you can go around and pick fights. Let the crime and punishment to us."

"Why?" Tony asked. "I've heard others say it too, the school system is bullshit."

"Because, Mr. Stark," Fury said as he got up again from his chair and towered slightly over Tony, "if students take matters into their own hands, me and my colleagues become obsolete. There will be anarchy. Now this might all sound extreme to you, but trust me when I say it has happened in places where kids or young adults took charge, and the situation became very much like Lord of the Flies."

Fury sat down again. He didn't sigh, but he might as well have. "There are troublesome times ahead, Tony," he said softly. "We're entering a rough era."

"What do you mean?" Tony asked.

"Have you watched the news lately?"

The boy shook his head. "I thought not. Well, you should. Just take a look."

Something about the Director seemed like he had deflated. Ms. Hill saw it too, and she got up from her chair. "Okay, Tony, I think it's time for you to go."

"What about my punishment?"

She laughed. "You're not very good at this, are you? You're excused, but only this time. Next time you pull something like that, there will be severe consequences. For you _and_ your friends if they are involved. Got that?"

Tony nodded. Just as he was about to leave, Fury spoke up again.

"Oh, Mr. Stark? Not a word of what you heard. We don't want any panic. Let the teachers handle that, and I promise you, _on this school and everything else that matters to me_, that I will act in the best interest of the students. They will not leave my thought. Everything I do is for them."

Tony gave another quick nod, though it was a slightly hesitant one. With that he was dismissed.

~oO0Oo~

A/N: Well. I'm guessing you didn't see that one coming... Please tell me what you think! And don't worry, in the next few chapters there will be a little more attention to the pairings again :) Also, don't be afraid to check out my profile and see what I write other than this. You can always leave a request.. ;) After all, I also write Supernatural, and though there's no smut in this story, I can always conjure some up in other fics for those who want it! Review, request, and have a nice day :)


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Thank you my dear guests, MotherOfBabyDragons,chills10124 and sailorraven34 for your reviews, it's great to see you are all enjoying my story! (And those who don't review but still read, thank you as well for sticking around :) ) And I agree with you chills and guest, this story does need some more Clintasha! (Though to clarify, I am still keeping those two platonic.) I put a little bit of that in chapter 11, and of course there will be more further into the story. But for now I wanted a bit more focus on Darcy/Ian and Thor/Jane. So slight filler chapter, but hope you still enjoy :)

~oO0Oo~

"Did you finish your homework for English literature yet?"

Darcy looked up from her cutting board, a mild frown on her face. "We had homework?"

Jane shook her head and laughed. "Honestly, you are never gonna pay attention in class, are you?" Darcy just shrugged. "Nah. I'm not here for the fancy education anyway." She held her hand open, and Ian placed a freshly peeled potato in it. "Thanks, intern." "Ian, it's Ian…" he muttered, but Darcy didn't pay attention. She just smiled and started dicing her potato.

Jane frowned as she put her own knife down from the chicken breast she had been cutting. "I know why you're here, Darcy, but most students aren't here for the educational levels either. You can't just abuse the hospitality of this place."

"Sure I can. Been doing it for two years now, and I can do it for another. You just watch me."

Jane looked away. It was at times like these that Darcy's casual carelessness lost its humour and got a slightly bitter tone to it. Which was understandable. It wasn't as if her friend had a sob story as big as other people's, but it still sucked. Yeah, Darcy had enough reason to feel resentment against this place.

"Well, it's not all bad," she tried as she continued dicing her chicken. "I mean, you've got me, which is in a way a miracle, and you've got int- I mean Ian… Sorry Ian," she said apologetically to the boy, who shrugged as he put another potato in Darcy's outstretched hand. "That's fine," he responded, though he didn't sound very sincere.

Jane turned back to her friend. "Anyway, my point is…" She thought for a moment. "Actually, I think I've said it. And if not then never mind."

Darcy laughed. "You're worse than me, and that says something. Speaking of worse than me, how's things going with Thor? Still all muscly? Or don't you get to see him in the nude yet? I mean, he's technically an adult while you're still a minor."

She wiggled her eyebrows, and Jane shook her head and laughed. "He's eighteen, I'm seventeen. It really isn't that big of a deal."

"So you _have_ seen the abs and pectorals?" Ian perked in. The girls gave him a puzzled look. "What? Am I not allowed to join in with the gossip? That's discriminating."

Darcy grinned. "Of course you are. Feel free, we'd love to hear your input!"

She pushed her cutting board aside and turned towards him, leaning on her elbows. "You're kind of the silent type, which means you must pick up a lot of stuff, right? Tell me everything!"

Jane laughed at this, but quickly fell silent when a secretive smile spread on the boy's face. "Think you can handle the dirt?"

This made the young physicist huff in amusement. "No way, you don't have dirt."

Ian grinned. "I'll tell you if you answer Darcy's question."

"Oh come on, that's not fair! I don't even know if you have anything!"

The boy just wriggled his eyebrows. Darcy was grinning evilly as well now. This was not a good sign. Jane dropped her knife and raised her hands as she slowly backed away while the other two came closing in.

"Come on guys, don't do this! I don't have anything to tell!" Her friend shook her head. "Yes you do, I can see it in your eyes, don't lie!"

Suddenly the kitchen door opened. _Speak of the devil._

"Thor!" Jane squeaked. Darcy raised her arms triumphantly at that. "See! They totally did the frickle frackle!"

Thor frowned. "I beg your pardon?"

"Coitus," Ian muttered, his gaze as avoiding as it could possibly get.

A sly smile spread on the older boy's face. "Is that what you have been talking about, Jane? And how much have you told?"

"Nothing!" _Still that damn squeak!_

"Is that because you believe there is nothing to tell? Because I find there to be plenty worthy to speak of."

Darcy laughed and Ian sniggered, but Jane turned bright red. "Thor! Why!" He let out a booming laugh, quickly closed in and picked her up to drape her over her shoulder. "Because I have the most beautiful girl in the world by my side and I want everyone to know it!"

She squeaked again as he spun her around, but laughed as well this time. When he finally put her down, they were both doing their best to keep their balance. Darcy was just sitting in a corner, smirking while she twirled a potato between her fingers (don't ask how), which she dropped almost immediately (which is what happens when you try to twirl a potato). Ian was just smiling as he witnessed it all.

When Thor and Jane were finally done with staring lovingly into each other's eyes, they both sat down. Thor took a knife and started helping Jane dicing the chicken. Cutting meat was always the worst bit of kitchen duty; it smelled, felt unhygienic and slimy and gross, and Jane always got chicken under her fingernails. And that was just gross.

She gave Thor a grateful smile and quickly leant over to give him a chaste kiss. Then she stood up to wash her hands from the chicken. At the counter she turned to Ian. "So, you basically have your question answered. Now spill. We want all the dirt you have on this school."

Ian wiggled his eyebrows. "Technically you didn't answer." Jane threw her hands up in frustration. "See? Told you he had nothing!"

Darcy grinned. "Who cares. He had us on the ropes, which is pretty impressive. Besides, I know a much funnier way to pass the time. We can make up our own dirt. Maybe even spread some gossip through the building."

Thor raised his eyebrows. "That could be entertaining, but I'm afraid I must insist that if we will actually spread a rumour, it must either be about one of us, or not be harmful." Darcy nodded. "Deal."

They huddled closer together, their heads bowed conspiringly. "Okay, Ian," Darcy said, "you go first."

"What!? Why me?" "Because you just said you had dirt. Now you are obliged to give us some." He sighed. "Fair enough."

The boy took a moment to think, then snapped his fingers. "Okay, how about this one: you know those eye mask thingies weird rich women use for sleeping?" The others nodded, and Ian pointed to Thor. "Thor here uses Jane's bra for that."

For a second it was silent, but then Darcy nearly bent double with laughter while Thor just looked puzzled. Jane whispered something in his ear, and a grin spread on his face too. "Of course! Very creative, Ian! Let's see what we can do in retaliation…"

Ian gulped, suddenly looking a lot more nervous as Thor and Jane started whispering to each other. Eventually they both looked up with wicked grins smeared on their faces.

"Our dear little Ian here used to think that if kissing a frog would get you a prince, kissing a toad would get you a princess. He was in hospital for three days and has been afraid of amphibians ever since."

"Hey, how do you guys know I'm afraid of slimy things!?"

Thor and Jane looked at each other and their smiles broadened. "All the better!" Thor boomed. Darcy was hiccupping by now from laughter, tears streaming down her face. Ian pointed at her with flushed cheeks. "Okay, I think it's time for _your_ weird rumour. Jane?"

Darcy immediately fell silent while Thor continued sniggering and Ian and Jane whispered to each other. When they finally looked up, she was practically sweating bullets.

"Darcy used to play willy games!"

"Oh come on! What's that even supposed to mean!?"

"It's from a play," Ian answered, "_When I was a girl I used to scream and shout_. There's a lot of weird things going on in that play, but one of them is two girls sticking pencils up their bits and pretending they have willies."

"Right. Thanks, Jane. You're a real friend."

Jane just sniggered. "You're welcome."

Thor cleared his throat. "I believe we still have a rumour to think of for you, Jane."

"Thor! Seriously, sometimes I wonder if you even -" She gasped as she fell silent. Thor's gaze saddened. "You know I do, Jane." She nodded. "I know. I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean it. It just sort of slipped out."

Of course Thor loved her. After all, he had basically spat in his father's face and given up his home, his mother, his heritage and everything he had ever known – all for her.

The silence lasted only for a moment before Darcy broke it. If there was something she was good at, it was pointing out awkwardness and dealing with it.

"_SO_, rumour for Jane. Come on Thor, we can do this."

Thor gave Jane a soft kiss on the lips. "All in good jest, okay Jane?" She nodded and smiled.

He went over to Darcy. Together they knew Jane best, so this should be interesting.

They whispered softly, and after a few seconds the evillest grin appeared on both their faces. "Jane," Darcy piped up, "do you perhaps remember that trip to the zoo a few years ago?"

Jane went pale.

"Don't you dare."

"You see, Ian," she explained, "we were, what, thirteen? And there was this basin where you could pet the rays. It was really cool."

Jane quickly got up and pressed her hand against Darcy's mouth. "Nope, nothing to hear, nothing to tell, nothing at all!"

Darcy stuck her tongue out, and with a disgusted yelp Jane quickly pulled back her hand. "As I was saying, mph mph mph -" as Jane covered her mouth with a piece of cloth this time.

"As Darcy was saying," Thor now joined in, meeting Jane's horrified expression with a wink, "Jane fell into the basin, right between the rays. One of them sort of humped her leg."

Defeated, Jane sank down on a chair, removing the cloth from Darcy's mouth, whose eyes twinkled mischievously. Ian looked confused.

"I thought these rumours had to be made up?"

Darcy grinned. "Well, technically, this is something that didn't happen to Jane. It happened to me. She laughed her ass off. But now, as retaliation, we're going to make the school believe it happened to her."

For a second it was silent, but then Ian burst out laughing, wiping tears from his eyes. "You are amazing!" He quickly fell silent, looking slightly shocked at Darcy's still mischievous smile.

"I said that out loud, didn't I?"

"Yep."

Suddenly the kitchen door opened again. To everyone's surprise, it was Tony who came walking in.

"So," he said as he sat down next to Ian, "I would like to talk to you guys about this school."

~oO0Oo~

A/N: Of course Tony couldn't keep it to himself, I mean, come on, it's Tony. Anyway, this chapter is for my dear friend LillyCasterwill, who despises it when Thor gets described as the dumb jock - and I agree with her, Thor is intelligent and sassy, though with a more gentle heart than Loki, so he tends not to show it as often. _When I was a girl I used to scream and shout_ is a real play, and the willy games does happen in it. Yeah. Weird. I know. And another side-note, I placed Shield Academy in Scotland, simply because I live here and know a little bit of what goes on here and the idea of this school in Scotland makes it feel very remote and perhaps just slightly Hogwarts-y. (Oh, for those who are a bit older and are in the Spn fandom as well, I started uploading another dark M-rated fic called Substance Undetermined. If you're interested. Or if you want something lighter, I also have some funny fluff called A fever you can't sweat out.) Anyway, review, request, and have a nice day :)


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: So, plot development incoming! Anyway, big thank you to Guest and Sailorraven34, your reviews put a smile on my face every time I see them :)

~oO0Oo~

Jane, Thor, Ian and Darcy had all been listening in silence to Tony's story of what he'd heard from Fury's office. When the young billionaire was done speaking, it was Thor who suggested to hold a meeting with their group – this wasn't something they could just keep to themselves.

They decided to hold one on Wednesday at midnight, since most of them had a late start on Thursday anyway. They had to keep it as much of a secret as possible though. They really couldn't use someone like Victor to just walk in on them and get them in all kinds of shit for it.

"Do you think they'll close the school?" Darcy asked. Her entire body seemed to be drained of energy, her face pale. She looked oddly fragile. Ian had taken her hand to give comfort, but he didn't look much better himself.

Tony sighed. "I don't know," he answered.

"Well, I guess we know now why there were so many council meetings," Jane said softly.

The five of them quickly finished their kitchen duty (Tony wasn't bad enough to just sit there and watch the others do the work) and went to the hub for dinner. Not that any of them still had some sort of appetite left after that news, but they'd still rather eat than fall over from hunger the next morning. They also took the opportunity of a loud hall where the chance to be overheard was less likely and all being grouped together to spread the message of their meeting. Though no-one really knew what it was about, they could all see it was something serious.

That evening it was incredibly quiet in the common room. It suddenly showed how big the group actually was; about a third of the people in the room was part of it. And their silence seemed infectious. The other students were speaking in hushed voices, even though they weren't quite sure why. It felt strange.

Eventually everyone went to bed early, their mind not in the right place to be social or even to make homework. That was probably going to be an issue, but for now schoolwork seemed incredibly arbitrary compared to what might be going on.

Tuesday flew by with a similar atmosphere, filled with tension. It was actually so bad that Tony and Bruce barely exchanged words. They just buried themselves in their books without really being aware of what they were reading. When they went to bed that night they exchanged a soft "goodnight", but Tony could hear his roommate tossing and turning until the boy got up and threw a glass against the wall. Tony decided to just let him be this time.

On Wednesday he could feel cabin fever creeping up on him, which felt a bit weird, but he managed to keep his head down the entire day. The teachers noticed that he wasn't trying to outsmart or contradict them, but they didn't mention it, probably just hoping it would last as long as possible.

That evening Darcy, Jane, Ian and Thor stayed in the common room, making sure it was secure. Around a quarter to twelve the others started joining them one by one.

At five to twelve Tony and Bruce were the last ones to enter. They quickly checked if they hadn't been followed from the sleeping quarters, then Bruce went to sit down with the group while Tony stayed standing.

He looked at them; their facial expressions varied from exhausted to worried to stony. He knew this was going to be tough. He sighed.

"Okay guys," he started, but the words immediately got stuck in his throat. Damn, how was he going to do this? It was definitely a big issue for most of them.

He sighed again. "Okay, hold on, before I want to say anything, I would like to see the news. I know that sounds stupid, but Fury told me to watch it. I'm pretty sure it's relevant."

They turned on the television, and at twelve the program started.

_"__Good evening, and welcome to the twelve o'clock BBC Scotland news,"_ the newsreader started. _"For our first item we'll be looking again at the situation in Ukraine. Let's go to our correspondent Lorna Hankin, who is in Kiev right now to explain for us. Lorna?"_

_"__Thank you, Glenn. The situation here has not improved at all. Tension is still rising. The main square has been occupied by demonstrating civilians for the past three days, and the military has threatened to remove them by force if they aren't gone by midday tomorrow."_

_"__And Lorna, can you tell us what this is all about again?"_

_"__Of course. Russia has shown an increasing amount of interest in the Russian speaking part of Ukraine, and there are troops lining up at the borders. There has been a referendum to see if that bit wants to join Russia, or at least become independent, but eventually the vote was called off because of fears for corruption and coercion. But Russia is still not removing their troops, and people are fearing an invasion. Now, the biggest problem with this, is that if this would happen, the rest of the world couldn't just stand by and watch. People are right now fearing an outbreak of World War III."_

_"__Do you believe these fears are grounded?"_

_"__Well, Glenn, I think they are certainly not irrational or ungrounded fears, there is certainly a very real threat. But I would like to remind people that all the world leaders know what their potential actions could lead to, and I'm completely certain that even Russia doesn't want to cause such a big war. Otherwise they would have acted already. In my opinion, Putin is simply flexing his muscles right now. But there certainly is a dangerous interest in Ukraine."_

_"__So Lorna, what impact do you believe this to have on us here in Scotland?"_

_"__Well, the main theory I heard on Russia's interest is that they want Ukraine for its resources, because this country is full of them. Now, if Scotland were to go independent, it would be the fifth richest country in the world, amongst other reasons because of its oil. Though all of this is complete speculation, I believe Russia would definitely show some interest. However, I think the chance that they would attempt anything is highly unlikely, since there is the entirety of Europe standing between them and you, and the rest of the world to turn against them."_

_"__Thank you Lorna. Now, on to our next item. According to statistics, the votes for Scottish independence are still incredibly close, though the tables have now turned again with 51% voting n-"_

Tony turned off the TV.

"_Eбать_," Natasha cursed softly.

Loki glanced her a quick look. It was barely visible, but she was shaking. Not from fear though – from rage. He felt like she didn't feel a real connection to the country she was born in, like any form of patriotism, but Russia still managed to piss her off. He really didn't want to touch her right now, feeling like he would probably lose his private parts for it if he tried to comfort her.

Others didn't really seem to notice – apart from Clint. That guy seemed to be perfectly tuned in to her, and the only one who could get to her without getting hurt. He went to stand in front of her, his hands on her arms.

"Nat," he said softly but firmly. "Come on, Nat. You can't do anything. Please. Please pull your mind out of that place right now. _NAT_."

Her gaze finally focused on him, and she gave a curt nod. For a second he seemed hesitant, but then he pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. She seemed to freeze in shock, but then carefully returned the hug.

Now this was something everyone _did_ notice, but thankfully no-one pointed it out or made a comment on it. Loki tore his gaze away from the two and turned to his roommate.

"Leo, you're the one who's actually Scottish here. Do you know what's going on with the referendum, and how this could cause problems?"

Fitz nodded. "I'll give it a go. See, the thing is, if we _do_ become independent, England would probably not be very happy with us – they're very keen on us staying with them. Also, it would take about three years before we could try and join the EU, you know, to show that we're a financially stable country. Essentially, we'd be on our own. We have no satellites, not a very strong or big military, and we have resources in which Russia would be interested. Especially since I hear that oil is running low in the world.

"Now, obviously, like the woman on the news said, yes, the entirety of Europe is between us and them, and there other countries with resources as well. But in those three years, Russia _could_ attack. After all, we have something they want, and most importantly: we are the easy target. No-one would be obliged by any signed documents or anything to back us up, they would just have to want it, like America likes to go to the Middle East to join in the fight without any treaties.

"Except no-one would want it. You see, it would cause World War III, and for what? A small country? To save the underdog? To show their people that they are a good leader to their country and are nice? No, the logical conclusion is that we wouldn't receive help. And with our army, we'd get overrun. We wouldn't stand a chance."

"So what is the news you have for us, Tony?" Steve asked.

Tony rubbed his face. "The news is, the council has been debating on whether or not to close the school and send students away when shit _does_ hit the fan."

A heavy silence fell.

"Why?" That was Pepper. Peggy squeezed her hand before speaking up. "My best guess is because this is a place full of geniuses, young prodigies. Hell, we've got the heirs to a county, we've got the heir to _freaking Stark Industries_, mother of all weapons manufacturers! We've got a concentration of potential future threats to Russia right here! If Russia knows about this place, you can bet on it that they want to tear it down, nuke it while they can. I wouldn't be surprised if this school will be closed the minute that referendum says yes and Russia steps foot in Ukraine."

Tony stepped forward. "Look, guys, before everyone's minds get carried away with doomsday scenarios, this is what I heard the teachers talk about. Ward made a point about this very thing. He said that Shield Academy is barely known to the public, including its location, which made it less likely to be a target. I mean, how many of you actually knew what this place was before they came here?"

No-one responded.

"Exactly my point. Now, they might close it down, yes, send everyone home so there isn't a concentration of IQ and rich and influential people here and everyone is scattered and difficult to find. But we have some incredibly ballsy teachers, and a bad-ass headmaster. Seriously, that guy nearly made me wet myself, and the teachers all went against him. They wouldn't budge. I think they might just risk it and keep this place open until they're _certain_ we're compromised. After all, we are difficult to find here, and in the end our safety and wellbeing comes first to them. I mean, that what the Academy is for, isn't it?"

This time it was Sif who stepped forward. "Though I can't be certain about all of you, I know some of you want to do something," she said. "It frustrates me that we have to sit here and watch everything unfold without having any say in it. And I'm sure some of you feel the same." She gave Natasha a meaningful look. "But for now we can't do anything. This is so much bigger than us. And we are all so small."

She straightened her back. "Some of you are rebellious by nature. Some of you want to go out, ignore me, and try to do something. But I want to remind you all that we are here at Shield Academy for our own safety. For our own wellbeing.

"Yes, we could go out, scatter, make it more difficult to be found. But I believe that leaving now, splitting up – it would damage us. All of us. If we want to make a difference one day, then let's stay here, let us grow into stable adults, wait until we are old enough to make a difference and let us develop into human beings who are capable of using their age and heritage to their advantage.

"It is best to stay here. We will invest in our futures, bide our time, and when the time comes, we will go out into the world and strike back. But not today. Today we are not ready yet. So let us bide our time, learn, enjoy each other's company while it lasts. And please. Please. Let's not do something rash and stupid."

Loki smiled as he got up. "Oh how I have missed your battle speeches, Sif. You always knew how to rally the troops and make them listen to every command."

A figure stepped forward from the shadows.

"Oh yes, very inspirational," Sebastian spoke. "I wonder what Fury will think of this little get-together. Emma?"

Emma stepped forward too, camera in her hand. "Didn't miss a word. I think that's enough evidence to get at least some of the little brats expelled."

And with that, they walked back to the sleeping quarters. Bucky sped after them, but came back half a minute later. "I don't know where they went," he said. "They basically vanished."

Darcy cursed. "Yeah, there's some secret passages in this building," she explained. "But as long as you don't know them, you should never use them. People died in those walls. I know a few, but I can't be sure which one they used, and I can't just point some of you out and say 'you take that one while I take this one'. It could end really badly."

Tony saw Bruce's hands shake, and he quickly grabbed them. "So what do we do now?"

"I think it's best to wait it out," Natasha responded. "I don't see any other option that isn't too risky. If Fury decides to expel Tony for this, we will stand up for him. Won't we?" Everyone agreed.

Pepper sighed and stretched. "Well then, I think I'm just going to go to bed then. Darcy?" She and her roommate disappeared to the sleeping quarters, and one by one the others started leaving too, until only Bucky, Steve, Tony and Bruce were left. Bucky placed his metal hand on Tony's shoulder.

"Things will work out in the end, Stark. Try not to let this all get to you."

"But what if it doesn't?" Tony quipped.

"Well then," Steve answered, "if it doesn't, we'll just see how to deal with it when we get there."

~oO0Oo~

A/N: Okay, the time line might not be 100% right, and I'm also not enitrely sure Scotland would be like the 5th richest country in the world if it went independent, but I heard something like that when everyone here was debating and stuff (I've been in the middle of some intense YES vs NO voting debates here, which was very interesting for foreign me, and has now been used in fanfiction :) ). Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please, feel free to continue reviewing, request some more interactions between or focus on certain people, or perhaps prompts for whole ficlets, and most of all have a nice day :)


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: TO MY DEAR GUEST AND RUSSIAN READERS: I got a review that said I came closer to reality than was comfortable with my fic, and they didn't like how I painted Russia as the bad guys. First off, thank you for telling me, I didn't realise until I got that review, you are absolutely right and I apologise. Now, I have some Russian blood in me too, I love the country, the language, the people. (I don't agree with how it is run at the moment but let's not go there.) The way I wrote it has to do with media framing, which essentially means that the media paints something in the news a certain way, and people will take it like it's the holy truth. I will do my very best to not make Russia the big baddy - after all, this is still in a way partially the Marvel Universe. I hope you can still all enjoy the story :)

~oO0Oo~

The next day was horrible.

Everyone was walking around with shades under their eyes; despite the fact that they all went to their beds at a quarter to one, none of them actually managed to get a proper night's sleep afterwards.

Tony had almost overslept, even with JARVIS' attempts at waking him, but luckily Pepper had come banging on his door, and he and Bruce had managed to get dressed within two minutes. The result was however that they emerged from their room looking completely dishevelled, which caused Victor, who had been passing them at that moment, to grin and make a very obscene gesture that suggested something which nearly got Bruce to fly at him in a moment of fury, with only Tony and Pepper to hold him back.

Most of them almost completely slept through M&O. Other classmates noticed this of course, and they were all whispering amongst each other. Tony really didn't want to know what kinds of theories they were making up.

But the worst was PE.

Tony desperately wanted to go back to bed, but Coulson was relentless. The students were tired? Extra lap. Talking during your lap? Do another. Complaints? Another lap. In the end none of them had enough energy left to even make sound. Tony actually had to pull out early because of the strain it was putting on his heart.

After class Coulson called him over. He expected it to be about his participation, but was quickly proven wrong.

"Two pupils from your year came to me and the Director this morning, Stark. Do you know what about?"

Tony swallowed, then nodded. "Yeah."

"They showed us some interesting footage."

"Yeah." He didn't really know what else to say.

"I believe Mr. Fury told you specifically not to speak to anyone else about the council meeting you overheard."

"So what, you're close enough buddies for him to tell you everything, but not BFF's enough for you to actually attend?"

Coulson suddenly stood up, towering over Tony. "Anthony Edward Stark, this is the fourth time in a few days that you seriously crossed a line, and this school will not stand for it."

Tony felt his heart race, but tried his best not to show it – though somehow he felt that Coulson could smell fear from miles away.

"If you defy the authority of this Academy one more time, break the rules again, if you so much as speak up against a teacher, you will be removed from the premises. Do we understand each other?"

The boy nodded.

Coulson took a step back. "Good." He straightened his shirt a little. "Now, since you have involved your friends in this, you can talk about it with them, of course. However, none of the other students may know anything about this. We have already given the same warning to the gentlemen Shaw and Von Doom and the lady Frost. They got the message loud and clear. I hope you do too. Also, punishment is in place. If anyone other than your friends asks what it is for, you tell them it's for the fight."

Tony nodded. "What do I have to do?"

"Kitchen duty every morning for breakfast for the rest of the week and next week, including the weekend. You will have to get up early, you're going to need to be there at half past six every day. If you're late, or skip a day altogether, this punishment will be extended for another two weeks. Got it?"

The young billionaire groaned loudly on the inside, but on the outside he just gave a reluctant nod. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Now get changed quickly, you're running late for your next class."

That would be chemistry, for which he indeed arrived late. Through his exhaustion he nearly dissolved a part of his notebook and burned a small hole in the table, and managed to singe a part of his left eyebrow as well. Bruce assured him it merely looked like an interesting new fashion trend, but Tony wasn't happy, especially since he had to stay behind to clean all the equipment and draw a few ridiculously complicated molecular structures as well because of being late.

All in all, worst day so far.

And to add to all the horrors, he wasn't done yet after that. Yeah, sure, the classes were, but he still had a shit-tonne of homework. _Difficult_ homework. And that was coming from a teen genius.

Yeah. Today sucked balls.

It was around eight o'clock when Tony was dragged out of unconsciousness by a hand on his wrist. "Come on, Tony," a soft voice sounded through his thoughts fogged by sleep.

"Bruce?"

"You need to go to bed."

Tony let himself get dragged up a little. "Why are you helping me?" he muttered. "I'm a douchebag. I've invaded your personal space, done things, said things. I'm not worth it, Bruce. I'm just a meaningless jerk."

Bruce wrapped his arm around his roommate. "You're my friend," he responded softly. "You took care of me when I needed it. So now I'm taking care of you."

He half-carried the older boy to their room. When he got there, it was not that much of a surprise to see Emma waiting for them. "Sharing the bed tonight, Twinkie?" Bruce sighed, then stared her right in her eyes. "Emma, I will say this only once: you, Sebastian and Victor can all go fuck yourselves. Bother me again and I'll skip the talking – I'll just break your arm. I don't care about the consequences."

With that he brushed past her, dragging Tony with him. He closed the door firmly behind himself and placed his friend on his bed to then carefully tuck him in.

Tony let out a soft sigh. "Well done, Specs. Proud of you."

And even though these words were half-muttered by a boy who was barely conscious, Bruce felt a glow spread within him. Tony was proud of him. He had done something right. For once in his life, he'd done something right.

Just as he was about to turn off the light, he looked back one more time, seeing his friend's chest rise and fall slowly. "I care about you," he whispered. With that he left the room.

~oO0Oo~

Back in the common room Bruce joined Pepper and Darcy, who were making their M&O homework, and was quickly joined by Bucky, Loki, Clint and Natasha.

Het let out a tired groan. Loki laughed softly at this, but his expression quickly became bitter again. Sif, who had just emerged from the sleeping quarters, her hair still wet from having washed it, spotted him and quickly came over too to sit down on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and placed his head on her shoulder, breathing in the smell of her shampoo.

Darcy put down her pen. "Okay guys, all your gloominess is putting me off my homework."

Clint laughed. "I think that's more because it's homework than us distracting you, Darcy."

Darcy made a face, but Pepper put her pen down as well. "Well, I don't think anything rational is going to come from my mind anymore anyway, so let's just abandon that altogether."

She turned to the group. "I'm not in the mood for any jokes or games. I just want to… I don't know. Have a serious conversation, I guess."

She looked around to see if anyone was listening. "So I was wondering… what would you guys do? If you… If you left, I mean. Where would you go?"

Wow. That definitely set the atmosphere.

Loki tightened his grip on Sif. "I'd go far away," he answered. "Anywhere she wanted."

"Cambodia," Sif said softly, and Loki nodded. "Cambodia. Explore Angkor Wat. Find tribes in the rainforest, learn from them." "Away from civilisation." "Away from western people."

Natasha's gaze was hard. "I'd go to Russia."

Clint carefully grabbed her wrist. "Natasha, don't. Please. It's pointless. On top of that, it's suicide." But the young woman's jaw was set, her body rigid. "I would tear it down from inside out. You know I could, Clint. And I would."

He took her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. "Nat. Please. _Don't_. I dragged you out of there with my own bare hands." He rolled up his sleeves, where thin scars covered his skin. "You struggled. You scratched me open. But I dragged you out of there. You're alive. Please, please don't throw that away because you suddenly let emotions get the better of you."

This seemed to get through. Natasha's gaze lost something of its fire, like hot metal cooling. It was almost as if the blinds behind her retina were being lowered. All expression drained from her face.

She straightened her back. "I'll never let emotion get the better of me ever again," she spoke.

At this, Clint drew her in for a hug, pressing her head against his shoulder, his hand in her soft red hair.

"No, Nat," he said softly as she carefully wrapped her arms around him. "That's what _they_ taught you. You can let your emotion out every now and then. Just… aim it at the right targets. The right purposes."

For a moment everyone was silent, but then Darcy cleared her throat.

"Well, I, for one, have been here for the past two years. This place has sort of become my home. So I don't really know where I'd go."

She looked across the room to where Thor and Jane were sitting, Thor's arm wrapped around Jane's shoulders as they stared at the television screen.

"I'd probably follow Jane. Knowing her, she'd start some scientific research project. Thor would probably follow her. And I would do my best to help. Probably take Ian with me too."

She tried to make it sound casual, but her avoiding gaze spoke volumes.

Bruce nodded. "Yeah, I don't really have anywhere to go to either. But I always wanted to go to India myself, find some scientists there, maybe try and help people. What about you, Pepper?"

She smiled wryly. "Well, Tony probably wouldn't be able to function without me. I think we'd end up going to America. I know he always wanted a modern Malibu mansion with plenty of space for him to tinker away on his inventions. So yeah, that."

Bucky ran his good hand through his hair. "It seems so easy for you," he said. "But me and Steve, we haven't… We haven't really known a proper life for several years now. And that old life… It has basically been wiped out. There is nothing for us to go back to, or to move on to. I wouldn't know what to do outside of this place."

He sighed softly. "Feels like I would only be able to join the military. But that would just cause me to lose it. And I'm not parting from Steve. Not in a million years."

Bruce waited a moment in respectable silence, but then got up. "Pepper, can I talk to you in private?" This was something that had been tormenting him for a while now, and he could only really talk to her about it. To his relief she nodded and followed him to her own room.

After closing the door behind her, she went to sit on the bed. "What is it, Bruce?"

He could feel himself tremble, so to cover it up he quickly sat down across from her, on Darcy's bed. He let out a shaky breath before speaking.

"What do you think it would do to Tony if I left?"

Pepper froze for a moment.

"You'd damage him," she finally answered. "You'd properly damage him. I hope I'm not being too personal, but Bruce, can I ask why?"

The boy shook his head, fighting back tears. "I'm not good, Pepper. But I care about him. I can't stay, I can't risk hurting him. I'm going to hurt him someday, I know it. Properly hurt him. And I can't, I couldn't live with myself if I did that!"

Pepper quickly got up to walk over to him and placed her hands on his shoulders, which were now properly shaking from his sobs.

"Bruce, listen to me. Tony doesn't just make friends like that. He doesn't trust anyone, ever. But you got to him within minutes, like with me. He attached himself to you. He's become dependent of you. And yeah, that can suck, believe me, I know. He's an ass after all.

"But the two of you have a connection, even if that might sound really cheesy. I get that you don't want to hurt him. But if you care about him that much, you won't. Not even accidentally. Maybe you will make a horrible comment one day that seriously gets to him, but that's how human relationships work. Those things simply happen. You need to listen to me Bruce. The only way you could hurt him now, truly hurt him, is by leaving. It'd kill him."

Bruce looked up, his red eyes huge. "I can't…"

"Yes you can," Pepper insisted. "You'll see. You draw strength from him as he does from you. You two have something special."

"I care about him," Bruce whispered.

"Is that all?" Pepper asked softly.

For a moment Bruce was silent as that comment sunk in and got processed. But then, finally, finally, he got it. And he finally dared to let himself believe it. Let himself say it.

"I think I might be in love with him."

~oO0Oo~

A/N: Some feels to make up for it :3 Anyway, a very smart reviewer asked me why Tony wouldn't just use his Stark riches to keep the group together (whoops, excellent question, didn't think of that one..). Tbh, looking back at this chapter, I think that this school is turning everyone into equals. But out there in the real world, even though they all love each other, I think their inheritance and their past would all come up again. They would most likely all go their own way. It's what people do, isn't it? The closest of friends in high school/secondary school, closer than family, they will split up after, all go to different colleges or universities and whatnot. That's simply how it works. Hopefully this cleared things up! And thus, if you see more plotholes, or don't understand something, or simply want to express your thoughts and feelings on my story, you are more than welcome to leave a review! Or send me a request :) Anyway, have a nice day!


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Another chapter for you, another reminder for me that I need to write more and faster! Hope you enjoy ;)

~oO0Oo~

The rest of the week was surprisingly uneventful. Their friendship had been raised to a new level however. They all felt more comfortable around each other, as if they had known each other for much longer than two weeks.

When the weekend came, they held a Lord of the Rings marathon, the full version, like Tony had insisted on. It turned out that besides Clint, Natasha, Bruce, Thor, Loki, Sif and Jane all hadn't seen it either.

It was awesome of course. Clint fell in love with the films and the elves right there and then, and Thor, Loki and Sif were watching with shining eyes, probably remembering the better parts of their childhood where they pretended to fight medieval battles. To Tony's surprise the girls didn't fawn over Orlando Bloom, Viggo Mortensen and Elijah Wood all the time, but actually showed a deep love for the story and the characters. He had also noticed that Steve occasionally took Bucky's hand, and Bucky would give a comforting squeeze, but other than that they seemed to enjoy it.

But for Tony, the best of it all was Bruce.

He watched his friend more than the film. And the boy was completely engrossed. His favourite was clearly Sam, and when Frodo sent him away, Bruce actually turned around and hid his tears in Tony's T-shirt, something which Tony definitely didn't protest against.

Afterwards they went outside, taking their dinner with them, giving their eyes a rest from staring at the screen all day. The atmosphere was for the first time this week relaxed again, and everyone tilted their heads to the sky to absorb some of the warmth of the slowly setting sun, which was bathing the landscape in a deep golden glow.

"But dude, seriously, the _elves_ are your favourite?"

"Shut up, Stark."

"But they're so… camp. And hippy-like."

"Oh get off his case, Tony," Natasha said with a smile.

"Make me."

"Hey, the elves are awesome, okay?" Clint defended himself. "They're badass warriors, sassy yet classy, and they're amazing archers. Just because you're in love with the hobbits…"

"Oh come on, you can't deny their courage!"

Steve laughed. Everyone turned their heads to look at him, to see a twinkle in his eyes. "What? You guys are fun to watch," he said.

Bucky gave his friend a side-ways glance to see if he was alright, and when he saw that the guy was genuinely enjoying himself, a smile broke through on his face and he pulled his friend in for a massive bear-hug. Steve seemed surprised at first, but then threw his arms around his friend too, squeezing him tightly. It was the first time both boys looked completely relaxed and happy, and their emotions painted a smile on everyone's faces.

Loki was the first to turn away from the display and direct his attention to Clint again. "So, archery?" he asked, having noticed the fondness in the guy's voice when speaking about it.

Clint gave a small smile. "Yeah. My brother used to do target practice with me." He seemed contemplative for a moment. "I haven't held a bow in a long time," he said.

"You should talk to Ms. May," Thor spoke up. "She's in charge of extracurricular activities, including loads of sports and different types of combat. I'm sure there is a possibility for you to practice archery again."

Clint nodded. "Thanks, Thor." The Brit gave a beaming smile. "You are very welcome."

Tony turned to Loki. "So, this is your second year here, right?"

Loki nodded. "Yes, me, Thor, Sif and Jane have been here for a year already."

"But you and Thor are, what, eighteen?"

"Sif as well."

"So why are you still here? Have you not done your final exams yet?"

Loki smiled. "This place isn't about education, Tony. Not primarily. You can compare it to witness protection in a way. Most of us are here for sanctuary and for our own safety, or because we can't really cope yet in the outside world. Or simply because this is where we washed up in life.

"Thor, Jane, Sif and I will stay here as long as we need to. We can't exactly stay until we hit thirty or something, but we shouldn't need to. We'll go out into the world once our lives are more stable, and are more likely to remain stable. I think one more year might do it, especially now that we have you guys." He gestured to the rest of the group.

"Making friends, working on our social skills and human interaction, it really helps."

Sif absentmindedly brushed the hair from Loki's face. "We haven't had many friends in life," she told Tony. "I would like you to know that we don't take you, or anyone else of you for that matter, all these friendships, we don't take any of it for granted. We might seem a little isolated at times, but I'm sure I can speak for Thor and Loki as well when I say that we are moved by how we are always included or respected in keeping our own space."

She turned to the rest of the group.

"Thank you," she said. "Thank you all."

They all responded in kind, all thanking each other. It felt oddly similar to prayer. Until Tony just said "you're welcome".

For a second everyone looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Eh, and thank you, of course," he quickly added.

Everyone burst out laughing. In that short moment of ecstasy Bruce threw his arms around Tony's neck and kissed him.

The entire group fell silent again, and Bruce quickly pulled away, his cheeks blazing red. Tony hadn't exactly reciprocated, and Bruce didn't know what to do with himself now.

"Did I do something wrong?" He could feel the pain inside him raise its ugly head at the thought of rejection.

To his surprise and huge relief, Tony just shook his head. He looked slightly dazed.

"No, Specs, of course not, I was just… pleasantly surprised."

The young billionaire started to blush a little as well. "To be honest, I was sort of hoping you would be – you would be interested, you know. I just didn't want to force myself on you, get into your personal space again."

"So we're okay?" Bruce asked hesitantly.

"I'd say we're more than okay," Tony grinned. He then leaned in and gently pressed his lips against Bruce's, who smiled and sighed happily into the kiss.

"The holy Virginia Pepper Potts is never wrong!" Pepper suddenly cried out. Tony pulled away from Bruce, feigned annoyance on his face. "Really Pepper? Did you really have to kill the mood? Are you that jealous of the fact that you have to share my formerly undivided attention with Bruce now?"

Pepper just laughed and stuck out her tongue. "Just reminding you that I'm still here too," she said with a glint in her eye. "And I don't know if you've noticed during all that fawning over your new boyfriend over there, but I'm not exactly fully dependent on your attention anymore either."

Peggy gave Tony a wink and pressed her own lips against Pepper's.

"Well," Loki drawled, "isn't this romantic?"

Natasha chuckled and Clint made the peace sign. "Spread the love, brother," he said in a mock-hippy voice. The others laughed as well, but it quickly fell silent again as they all relaxed and went to lie back in the grass, softly talking amongst each other and occasionally taking a bite of their dinner, which had now started to grow cold. That didn't matter though. There was nothing that could ruin this weekend anymore. Not cold food, not monstrous heaps of homework, not even the anti-gay squad. For now, they were all completely content.

~oO0Oo~

And before they knew it, it was Monday again, and they all fell back into their routine – school, homework, relaxation. It turned out that the workload was actually doable if you sat yourself down to do it immediately and without distraction.

Of course, some things were a little different now. Pepper and Peggy had made their relation official and public, and occasionally got some anonymous shit for it, but they really didn't give a damn. Tony had to get up extremely early every morning for his kitchen duty, but he now had Bruce at his side to wake him up and make sure that he wouldn't just crawl back into bed again as soon as he could.

The two of them took it slowly, only giving chaste kisses on the mouth and keeping those to a minimum in public. They were fairly certain the bullies couldn't exactly do much to them for it, and if they did then Tony and Bruce were smart enough to avoid conflict, but it was still easier to not lure out any reactions in the first place.

They did however hold hands when sitting next to each other, trying to keep that physical contact as much as possible without it showing too obviously. Thankfully though, the most they got for it these days was an occasional anonymous letter in their lockers or Pepper calling them adorable. Now that was something they could live with.

~oO0Oo~

It was on Thursday the next week when everything changed.

The group gathered in front of the TV that morning. Tony had asked Coulson the day before if he could skip kitchen duty for one time, and to his surprise the guy had accepted it after hearing the reason.

As the news started, they all fell silent.

_"__Good morning, and welcome to BBC News Scotland. For our first item we can tell you that the votes have been counted, and with a very close outcome of 52% against 48%, Scotland has voted YES for independence."_

They all stared blankly at the screen, not taking in anything else of the news. When the program ended, Simmons turned off the TV.

"I want to talk to Fury," she said, her voice resolute. "I want to ask him what he's planning on doing next. I believe that we, as students, have a right to know."

"I'll join you," Fitz said. Thor stood up. "I shall accompany you as well." "If Thor is going, then so am I," Jane spoke up as well now.

"Hold on, hold on." That was Steve. "Guys, I'm pretty sure we all want to know what Fury has to say. But I don't think it's a good idea if we all barge in there. Maybe it should just be Fitz and Simmons. They can fill us in afterwards."

The rest of the group agreed. They had to leave to get breakfast and go to class after that, though. Today was packed with classes, so they wouldn't be able to group up see each other again properly until the evening. This kept the tension high again. And if he was honest, Tony wasn't sure on how badly he wanted to hear what Fury had to say.

~oO0Oo~

A/N: Btw, I received a PM with a question about Tony, whether he was kidnapped by the Ten Rings. Don't be afraid to ask such questions, there are a lot of characters and I overlook some of them! (After all, I only put some spotlight on Simmons in this chapter..) I have no idea whether he was or will be kidnapped. I don't really know where this story is leading me after all :) But asking me reminds me that that happened in the Marvel Universe, and I could and perhaps should incorporate it in some way. So don't be afraid to teach me more about the characters, I learn most things through the Marvel Wiki anyway. Every question and suggestion is welcomed, and so is every little comment :) Have a nice day!


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Thank you sailorraven34 and Guest for your comments, they really do make me happy and are a great motivation to keep up the writing! Also, Guest, excellent question, why Loki and Thor are not from Norway.. Eh, my apologies to readers from Norway. Tom Hiddleston's beautiful accent enchanted me. They all just sound so British! But they are of Norse descent, and they used to speak Norse back home sometimes, mostly with their mother. I have made it so. Now, here is chapter 14, with a tiny bit of repetition, sorry.. But hopefully you'll still enjoy :)

~oO0Oo~

It was five to one the next day when the intercom sounded. At one it would be lunch time, and everyone was starving, but it turned out they were going to have to wait a little longer if they wanted to eat.

_"__Attention, students. At one o'clock Director Fury will make an announcement in the hub. We ask everyone to attend if possible. Food will not be served until after. Thank you."_

Tony and Bruce walked over to Fitz and Simmons. "Simmons? Do you have any idea what he's going to say?" Bruce asked. The girl gave a small frown. "I'm not certain," she answered. "I told him yesterday what we talked about, that the students deserve to know the situation. He just said he agreed and that was it. So we can only assume that he will speak of what you overheard and what we speculated on."

They were given an early dismissal from the teacher, and the group quickly walked to the hub. The other classes were gathering there too, clearly being given an early dismissal too.

Tony suddenly crossed gazes with Victor, who mouthed the word _faggot_ at him. Tony desperately wanted to walk over and punch the dude in the face, but instead he grinned and carefully pulled his boyfriend (and _God_ did it feel great to be able to think of Bruce in that way) in for a kiss. He could feel Victor's glare burning, but it only widened his grin, especially when Bruce enthusiastically reciprocated and opened his mouth to deepen the kiss.

At that moment the bell sounded to indicate that it was one o'clock, and the two boys quickly untangled themselves, flashing each other a smile before directing their gaze to the other side of the hub, where Fury, Coulson and Hill had gathered.

Fury wasn't holding a microphone, he was simply standing there with a long black leather jacket, his hands behind his back. He looked like a proper badass. The guy waited until everyone settled down and fell silent before he started speaking.

"Ladies and gentlemen, staff and students. You will probably all be aware of the fact that the Scottish referendum has come up with a YES vote. That means this academy will now be part of the independent country of Scotland instead of the UK. And that puts us in a vulnerable position.

"As many of you know, there are quite some important people in this academy. We have the heir to Von Doom Industries, the heir to Stark Industries, and many others. We also have a great collection of brilliant minds. All in all, when shit goes down, this academy will become a potential target.

"Now, before any of you panic, you all also know that this place is barely known to the public. That includes its location. As we are right now, you can all consider Shield Academy to be as safe at it has always been.

"But the situation is this: we are now based in a vulnerable country. And to top it off, there is a war threatening. Now, me and my colleagues have been holding many meetings about what's going to happen next, and some students made it clear to me that you all have a right to know.

"Those who no longer feel safe here and who would prefer to go home if they have that option are free to do so. We won't make any noise about it. Those who want to stay here can. It is up to you to decide what will be the greater risk and which risks you are willing to take. You are all very intelligent young adults, and I'm sure you'll be more than capable in making that decision. If there are any future developments, I will share them with you all.

"Now, I realise this might have been quite a shock for most of you, and you probably won't be able to really concentrate in class. Because of this, the rest of today's classes have been cancelled. Enjoy your lunch."

And with that, Fury was done. He walked off and left the hub in a baffled silence. That didn't last long however – a second later voices erupted everywhere. There wasn't any panic though, not with loads of intelligent teenagers who had been explained the situation with clarity.

Tony still had to let out a sigh at the noise. Simmons nodded. "Exactly my thoughts. Shall we get some food and then go outside again?"

It was another brilliantly sunny day, which in a way was a bit weird, since this was Scotland, but hey, you couldn't hear anyone complain. Steve went to lie down in the grass with his arms behind his head. "I wonder what the other students are going to do now," he said.

"Well, I can definitely name _some_ that I would love to see gone," Tony reacted. Bucky huffed. "That would be the life, now, wouldn't it? If for once things would go our way."

They all stayed silent for a while after that, pensively eating their lunch. After a while Fitz pulled his homework out of his back, and Simmons quickly pulled out her own books too to join him. Clint cursed softly. "Damn it. Why do we _always_ have homework?"

"Is it going to stay like this the whole year?" Bruce asked. Loki, who was lying in the grass as well while playing with Sif's hair, shook his head absentmindedly. "Thankfully not," he replied. "After the Christmas holidays, the workload will drop dramatically. We'll have less classes and more time. We'll start to work on projects that are either suggested by teachers or made up by ourselves. We'll basically be applying the knowledge that we have built up in the months previous to that, and use the logical way of thinking and approaching problems that we trained. It's quite nice. We'll still be expected to work hard and do much, but it'll be less studying and more physical work."

Thor nodded. "For example," he spoke up, "I had a project for History last year, which I combined with Literature. I did extensive research and wrote a paper on the June Rebellion in Paris in 1832, which is mostly known because of Victor Hugo's _Les Misérables_ novel. My paper dug into what happened after the French Revolution, where all the aristocrats were killed or had fled and the monarchy was thrown out the window. But not too long after that Napoleon still managed to become king, emperor even."

"Yeah, fascinating as that sounds, Point Break, I am really not focusing on your words at all right now," Tony interrupted what sounded like something that would unwind into a _long_ story. Thor was clearly a big fan of history, but as far as the young billionaire was concerned, he was doing everyone a favour by shutting the guy up. Loki actually even chuckled. If that wasn't a seal of approval, then Tony didn't know what was.

"Don't take it personally, big guy," Clint said as he patted Thor on the knee. "Tony is just a bit of a asshole sometimes."

"Hey!"

"Don't deny it, Tony," Pepper joined in. "You're an arrogant bastard and you damn well know it."

"Honestly," the young billionaire piped up, "I don't get why some people used to think you and I were an item, Pepper. All you do is insult me."

"And Bruce never does that?" Darcy commented. "Seriously dude, you need to be meaner to him," she now directed to the younger genius. "Tony could use some ego-trimming every now and then."

Bruce laughed, but his eyes were soft. "No, I think he already gets enough of that from you guys," he reacted. Tony knew the truth behind that remark, though – there was no way Bruce could ever say something to him that could even be considered as mean. Not in a joking way. Not purposefully.

He reached up from his own position in the grass and kissed his boyfriend on the mouth. "Damn right Specs," he said. "Don't let any of them tell you what to do! After all, that's my job."

He retreated with a wink, and Bruce returned it with a smile. Apart from the mountains of homework and the still present secrets and hidden stories between all of them, the atmosphere was incredibly relaxed. It was nice. They didn't need to know each other's pasts anyway. Not unless people wanted to share their stories. This respect for each other was probably the strongest foundation of their friendship.

Days went by, and business continued as usual. All the students managed to stay in their own routine, building up a discipline that kept them finishing their homework on time (though there were a few slip-ups of course, most of them made by Tony, Darcy and Clint, which totally didn't have anything to do with the occasional gaming afternoon the three of them held. Even Natasha let her discipline slip for that every now and then, something Tony saw as his greatest achievement so far).

Loki, who, now that he felt completely comfortable around the others and managed to separate himself from his old group of Thor, Jane, Darcy and Sif, was starting to show his fondness of pranks and dicking around. It surprised Tony that the guy was actually keeping up with school with the things he managed to pull off. Apparently the secret behind that was Loki having learned the hard way the previous year what happened if he messed around too much and how to manage his time.

This turned out to be quite frustrating for Tony. Loki managed to be the star of the class as well as replacing the young billionaire's underwear with long leaves of dried kelp weed (a complete mystery where those came from). The one thing that really surprised Tony was Loki's intelligence and knack with technology, which he discovered during Ward's Literature class – when JARVIS suddenly started playing the Pussycat Dolls. And later again during Coulson's class, only this time it was Kylie Minogue.

Sadly though, the joking around and social get-togethers declined as more tests were thrown at them. Tony could swear most of them were university exams. But whatever they were, they kept him huddled over his books for 90% of the evenings. Needless to say it was a bitch for his love-life, but Bruce forgave him. After all, they were roommates and classmates too. They saw each other all the time, and often studied together too. It could've been worse.

Despite everything seeming normal, there was still a threat looming over their heads. Only two or three students had actually gone home, but there were still regular board meetings, so it couldn't all be as peachy as most of the other students liked to pretend it was. Tony wondered what was going on outside of the academy. Whatever it was, he hoped it would be a long, long time before everything would turn to shit.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Oh dear. No story is a real story without some form of conflict in it, is it? And in place full of traumatised teenagers/young adults things can't always remain peachy. Enjoy :)

Disclaimer: Nothing of the Marvel franchise is mine. The Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides quote isn't either.

~oO0Oo~

It was about a month-and-a-half into the school year when they had their first test week. And it was hell.

Stress sky-rocketed. Bruce had two breakdowns in which he yelled so much that he actually gave himself an asthma-attack, Clint and Natasha talked to no-one but each other, Pepper constantly looked like she was about to get an ulcer, and Thor, who never raised his voice except for boisterous laughter, actually yelled at Loki.

The two brothers had a major fall-out in which horrible things were said, mostly by Loki, who _really_ knew how to play nasty. There had been some incredibly low jabs at the old family dynamics. How Thor had always been on their father's good side while Loki had to suffer neglect and sometimes even physical abuse from their grandfather. How Loki had always hidden behind their mother's skirts for safety. No-one knew how the fight had started, but when things escalated so far that they started to shout at each other in Norse, which apparently was spoken often back home, it had taken both Jane and Sif to break it up.

The worst moment perhaps though was between Natasha and Bucky. He had asked her for help on Physics, and she had stated that she was busy enough as it was. He had snapped, and proceeded to call her a cold-hearted bitch.

Her slap properly echoed through the common room.

Okay, maybe _that_ was the moment when Bucky snapped.

He nearly went flying at her, but Steve threw his arms around his friend, who was struggling and shouting incoherently. That all seemed to trigger something in Steve, and suddenly both boys seemed to be hit with a PTSD flashback. Everyone just stared in horror until Simmons, one of the few sane people left, appeared with Hill and Coulson, who actually managed to calm the boys down and take them somewhere private.

And even then, everyone had to do their tests. No exceptions, no exemptions.

After all that, it was a freaking miracle that they all actually passed everything. Fair enough, their grades were not all brilliant, but honestly, they couldn't really give a damn at the moment. At least that was over for now.

The group was sitting outside again. The surroundings of the school were absolutely breath-taking. It was half-way through October, and all the leaves had turned a rusty gold colour, making the grounds look like they were on fire.

Simmons looked out over the group, which had splintered in a way that it was mostly pairs sitting spread out across the grass. She sighed as she sat down next to Fitz. "I think we need to do something together," she said. "Get our group united again. These past weeks haven't been kind on us."

"More like we haven't been kind to each other," Fitz corrected. "But what do you suggest?"

"Well, social skills aren't exactly my forte," the girl replied. "Any ideas from your end?"

Fitz laughed. "Don't look at me for that."

They thought together for a moment, until they both perked up and looked at each other at the same time. "Darcy."

~oO0Oo~

Darcy looked _way_ too happy with being consulted.

"Sure, I know exactly what we can do," she said cheerfully. "We'll need a crossbow, an hourglass, three goats, one of you needs to learn to play the trumpet, while the other goes like this." She wriggled her fingers in front of Fitz' face, who looked thoroughly confused.

She held up the earnest expression for another few seconds before bursting out with laughter. "Relax, Fitz, it's a _Pirates of the Caribbean_ quote!"

The boy crossed his arms, feeling mocked, but managed to crack a grin anyway, especially after Simmons gave him a little shoulder nudge. "Okay, hilarious," he finally said. "But do you have any ideas?"

She thought for a moment, but then another grin broke out on her face. "Okay, I've got something," she said with a nod. "I'm going to need Loki for this, and my loyal intern."

"Ian?"

"That's the one!"

Simmons laughed and shook her head. "Okay, I'm curious. Care to let us in on it?"

"All I can tell you is that we won't join the Halloween party in a week," Darcy answered with a wiggle of her eyebrows. "Now go, my minions, and spread the word! We shall all stay behind in the hub after dinner. And if you want to know what happens after that, you will just have to wait and see."

~oO0Oo~

"Please speak to Thor."

Sif and Loki were lying on Loki's bed, staring at the nebulas that were slowly whirling around them.

Loki sighed. "Thor and I have said all we had to say."

"No, you and Thor have said all you _wanted_ to say," Sif responded as she propped herself up a little and went to lie down on her boyfriend's chest, looking up at his face. "The two of you have gone through so much together. Don't let the stress of test week get between you. That would just be a waste, and so petty. Go to him and say what you _need_ to say."

The boy went to sit upright and carefully pulled her into an embrace as he looked out into space. "I don't know why I'm suddenly plagued by this tension, Sif," he spoke softly. "Last year everything was alright between us. I struggled more with keeping my grades up, but the stress didn't get to me."

"Maybe you suddenly feel the need to prove yourself," Sif offered. "With all these new people who are watching you closely, who are all caring about you and how you are doing…"

"Perhaps," Loki responded. "But I was settling in. I felt comfortable around them."

"Well, you know what I mean."

He nodded.

It was silent for a moment as both of them stared at the beautiful spectacle that made their faces glow a little with its light, but then Sif spoke up again. "You _felt_ comfortable?"

She could feel Loki smile as he kissed her on the top of her head. "Almost as perceptive as I am," he muttered.

"That's not an answer."

He gave a soft sigh. "After all that happened during the test week, I just feel like maybe it's not just a question of giving each other space and respect for their pasts. It's also not telling each other about our pasts. We don't know each other as well as we like to pretend, and we don't trust each other enough either to let people get to know us. I mean, Stark told me that he's certain there are things in Banner's past of which they never speak. And those two are attached to the hip. And Stark isn't exactly opening up about himself to Banner either."

He shifted Sif a little to get more comfortable. "It makes me weary of our friendships. And Darcy had an interesting idea to do something together again, but to be honest, I don't think her idea is what we really need. But I'm not going to push anyone, including myself, to spill secrets and pasts."

"I'm sure all will come in good time," Sif spoke. "You just need a little more patience."

Loki laughed. "I am a patient person, darling, but you know better than anyone that when I run out, that's it."

She turned around with a smile and softly kissed him on the lips. "Oh, how I know," she replied with a soft chuckle.

It didn't take long for the kiss to get more heated, his long, slender fingers gripping into her soft hair, until his hands roamed down and with a strong grip he lifted her onto his lap.

She sighed into the kiss, but then a sound came out that he recognised from experience – a sound that he really didn't like to hear. It was the sound that said _I'm loving this, and it's torture, but I'm pulling back_. And sure enough, she pulled back a fraction of a second later, the look in her eyes loving but stern.

"Don't distract me," she reprimanded him. He grinned. "But I'm so good at it," he said cockily. "And don't deny that you love it."

She rolled her eyes. "Fair enough," she replied. "But you are still going to have to talk to Thor."

Loki threw his head back with a frustrated groan. "We have had our fights in the past, and each time all I have to do is wait for him to come to me like a sad puppy to apologise."

"Exactly," Sif responded. "But in all this stress right now, it would mean so much more if you were the one extending the olive branch for once."

"There is no need for _more meaning_, Sif. That's not going to change anything in the end. He'll apologise, I'll forgive him, and all will be dusted over again." He was starting to sound angry, and Sif knew she had to tread carefully now. Though Loki was sly and patient, he had a tendency to snap easily when in the right (or wrong) mood.

She tried to sound light-hearted. "I swear, you are at least as stubborn as Thor, perhaps even worse."

That had apparently been the wrong thing to say.

Loki's gaze was suddenly harder and sharper than flint.

"Just like Thor," he spat. He got up from the bed and started pacing. "Just like Thor." He turned around abruptly and looked Sif straight in the eye. "Maybe another time. But this time, he'll be the first to apologise. There is _no way_ that I will budge on this occasion."

"What did he say?"

"Your Norse is better than ours, Sif. Don't pretend that you weren't listening."

"I wasn't in the room, Loki!" Sif cried out. "I got called in to prevent you from ripping out Thor's throat! Now _tell me what he said!_"

~oO0Oo~

There was a knock on the door. As soon as Tony opened it, Thor brushed past him, straight into the room, and fell down face-first onto the young billionaire's bed. "Banner, my friend, I have been tormented by my conscience ever since my falling-out with my brother. I need your help and advice."

"My presence isn't even acknowledged," Tony stated. "Now that's a new one." Bruce just raised his eyebrows at him. "Yeah yeah, darlin', I'm gone, don't worry," the billionaire sighed. "I'll just go look for someone else to torture. Aka Pepper." And after a quick peck on the lips for Bruce, he left the room, leaving the boys behind in a slightly uncomfortable silence.

"Um," Bruce finally managed to say, "tell me what's bothering you?"

"With your explosive character, you are an expert on blurting out hurtful things to loved ones, are you not?"

"Gee, thanks buddy," Bruce muttered.

"My apologies." Thor's voice was muffled by the pillow he was pressing his face into. "Having crossed a line is a gross understatement of what happened. I am begging you, my friend, hear me out. The weight on my conscience is exhausting."

"Of course," Bruce replied. "What happened exactly?

"Loki reminded me of how he saved us. We got out of the place that we once called home thanks to him."

"I thought you were sent away by your father?"

Thor shook his head. "Sadly, that is not quite how it went. No. Loki saved us all. And he was using it as psychological leverage in our fight, to make me feel guilty."

"What did you do?"

"I said I never asked for his help. He replied by saying – well, shouting – that I wasn't supposed to ask for something like that from him, since he's my brother."

Bruce looked at his friend. There was more. "Thor. What did you say?"

~oO0Oo~

"_You're not my brother._"

Loki let the words suspend in the air for a moment. He could see something shift behind Sif's eyes, something he didn't want to see – pity, understanding, anger at Thor but understanding for him as well.

"Don't you dare, Sif."

"I won't speak a word."

"Damn right you won't."

She got up, now nothing but fury in her gaze. "Loki, you'd better listen to me, and listen well. You push everyone away, and I get it, I do. It all hurts. But you have let me in. What we have is important, and built on mutual respect. So _don't you dare_ to ever speak to me like that again. Do we understand each other?"

Loki was about to open his mouth, but suddenly there was a knock on the door. Sif went to open it, but quickly shot her boyfriend a look – _this conversation isn't over_. Loki knew well enough to just give a stern nod.

~oO0Oo~

"Why haven't you just apologised yet?"

Thor shifted his head so that he could look at Bruce. His eyes looked sadder than the boy had ever seen. "I want to, my friend. I do. But I fear if I were to do it too quickly, without letting some time and thought go over it, it would seem insincere."

Bruce nodded. "I get that. Well, if it helps anything, I've done worse things than reminding a sibling of being adopted in my rage."

Thor frowned. "That does not really help the current situation."

The younger boy turned red and quickly averted his gaze. "Ah. Yeah. Sorry. Eh, well, I guess telling me helped a little, didn't it?"

The other nodded. "It did."

"Well, I think the next step is going to Loki. Apologise. Explain how you feel, what you're thinking. Let him know it's been thought about and it's heartfelt."

Thor nodded. "You are right, my friend." He sighed. "I wish mother was here. It would make things easier."

Bruce frowned. "Is there not a way to get her to come over?"

The older boy suddenly perked up. "You are right! I shall send her a letter. While waiting for her response, I shall apologise to Loki." He stood up and gave Bruce a massive bear-hug. "You truly are a good friend, Banner!"

He left the room with a bounce in his step. Bruce smiled and pushed his glasses up a little. Thor was smart and a realist, so clearly he had seen something sincere in Bruce's words, something that had given him real hope. It was nice to see that some bonds, no matter how damaged or strained, could remain intact.

Thor was certain he could mend things with his brother after their cruel exchange of words in a situation Bruce recognised all too well. Seeing this gave him some hope for his own future too.

~oO0Oo~

"Bucky?"

Bucky raised an eyebrow at Sif's still slightly askew clothes from earlier and the blush on her face. "I'm interrupting something, aren't I?"

"The conversation has been suspended now anyway," Loki spoke up. "Come in. I assume it was me you were looking for, given that it is my room?"

Bucky nodded. "Yeah. I heard you, Darcy and Ian were planning something for Halloween."

"It's Darcy's plan, I have merely been dragged into it. The same goes for Ian of course."

This brought a brief smile to Bucky's face, but then he got serious again. "I was wondering… I know it's supposed to be a surprise, but I need to know – are there any jump-scares or loud noises involved?"

"Is this about your and Steve's PTSD?" Loki asked. The other nodded. "Well," Loki answered, "I'm not sure about those. There might be. One thing I can assure you though is darkness and tunnels, and the slight chance of getting lost. Are those a problem?"

Bucky grimaced. "Yeah, definitely. Sorry. You can tell Darcy that me and Steve are sitting this one out." The Brit gave a nod, and Bucky left again with a "thanks".

Loki sighed. "See? What is the point in doing all of this? Relations are flimsy as air."

Sif felt the sting in her heart at this, but she knew her boyfriend's broody moods. She wanted to speak up, say that the point was _this_, them, him confiding in her, and everything they had gone through together. But she decided against it. He'd do some dark philosophising, sleep it off, and be better again in the morning. With these thoughts she left the room.

The logic wasn't able to numb the pain though.

~oO0Oo~

A/N: Oh crap. Do you think Loki is right? Or is Thor right? Is the relationship between the two brothers still salvageable? I know Thor from the films would never say such a thing of course, but remember that these are all traumatised and extremely stressed teenagers/young adults. It's inevitable that things are said which are regretted. Anyway, please, let me know what you think, or maybe even drop a request for what you want to see more of, or perhaps an idea for a fic that you'd like to see me write..? And have a nice day :)


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Okay, fresh from the printing press! Seriously, I _just_ wrote this. I'm slacking. But that's what happens when my dad suddenly gets me Netflix and I have college stuff to do.. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

~oO0Oo~

The week flew by, and then it was finally there – Halloween. Not that it was such a big thing, it was just nice to have a day to relax and goof around. And for once they didn't have to wear their uniforms, which was definitely a bonus.

Bruce woke Tony up ridiculously early to help him with his costume, which turned out to be a green-skinned zombie with ripped clothes. Tony sniggered when he saw it. "Brainless monster," he commented. "It's Halloween, Specs, not Opposite Day." Bruce just smiled and pecked his boyfriend on the lips.

"And you? What are you going as?" he asked as he put on his shoes.

"Vampire of course," Tony answered matter-of-factly. "Strong, fast, sexy, all the girls fawn over him -"

"Arrogant bloodsucker," Bruce quipped. "Fitting."

Tony's sock hit him square in the face.

When the boys walked into the common room, they could see they were not the only ones that had dressed up. In fact, almost everyone was already in costume.

Tony quickly spotted Clint and laughed. "Dude, nice wig! Where'd you get it?"

Clint twirled a strand of his long blond wig around his finger. "Oh, you know," he replied, "Fury's secret stash."

Natasha came up to the boys. "He got it from a town about seven miles out," she answered. "You have to admit though, he makes an awesome Legolas."

"Definitely," Peggy answered as she walked up to them, dressed as if she came straight from the 1930's, with a fake wound above her eyebrow. "Nice costume by the way, Natasha. Amy Pond, right?"

Bruce raised his eyebrows. "You watch Doctor Who?" The redhead shrugged. "It's good. And Amy doesn't take shit from anyone. Nor does Donna, but I liked Amy's first outfit."

"I just thought you were a sexy police officer," Tony said. Natasha batted her eyelashes at him, suddenly looking sweet, seductive, and incredibly deadly all at the same time. "Do you really think I'm sexy?" she asked innocently.

"Eh…" It took a strong nudge from Bruce to break Tony's trance, but before anyone commented on it, they were joined by Steve and Bucky. And that easily drew the attention.

Steve was dressed as a priest, which was just _illegally hot_, but it was Bucky that, after a moment of shocked silence, had everyone in giggle fits.

"Dude, what _are_ you?" Clint asked as he wiped the tears from his eyes. Bucky shrugged with a grin. "Captain Hook/T-Rex hybrid, what else?"

"Hey, look at that, mister Grumpy Cat has a sense of humour," Tony managed to bring out between laughing fits. Bucky had screwed off his prosthetic at one of the two places where he could without damaging the technology inside; his elbow (the other option was his shoulder). He had replaced the part of the prosthetic that he had taken off with a hook, and to top off the costume, he had conjured up some old brown clothes, an eye-patch and a pirate hat, while painting his face green and scaly. The shortened arm looked absolutely ridiculous, but everyone took it in good spirits.

Bruce directed his attention to Peggy. "So where is Pepper? And where is Sif? She is your roommate, right?" Peggy nodded. "I think Pepper is still putting her costume together. Sif, on the other hand, is already dressed up." A grin spread on her face. "She's helping Loki with his outfit."

"What's so funny about that?" Steve asked.

"Oh, you'll see," Fitz replied as he came walking in. Simmons was by his side, dressed in quite normal clothes; dark jeans, coral red T-shirt and a dark blue leather jacket. Fitz was wearing a brown suit with a blue tie and red All Stars, and a fez to top it off. Steve frowned at them, clearly completely clueless about who they were supposed to be. Natasha on the other hand smiled widely. It was a bit disconcerting to see her smile.

"Nice, Rose and Doc number 10! We should stick together!"

"No way," Fitz protested, "you're from the wrong Doctor! I mean, I love your outfit, but…"

"But Fitz wants to keep the details right, don't you Fitz?" Clint said with a wink before turning to Natasha. "For someone who's supposed to be amazing at reading people you're pretty bad at spotting that he wants to spend the day exclusively with her, Nat," he whispered to her.

She looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Clint, the guy is like a puppy. Even Tony could see he has the hots for her." Her friend grinned. "You're messing with him, aren't you?" "I think I'm entitled to some occasional messing with people," she responded with a smirk.

"Um, I know you guys are having a moment, but I kinda want to see what's going on with Loki," Tony interrupted. The others agreed, and together they all headed for Loki's and Fitz' room.

The door was opened by Pepper and Jane, who were dressed as a witch and Wednesday Addams respectively. They both looked far too happy. Darcy and Ian were already there. Ian was dressed and painted to look like Jack Skellington from _A nightmare before Christmas_ and Darcy like an undead nurse.

"Classy," Tony commented dryly on her cleavage. "Yeah, you too, Dracula, really creative," she retorted with a smile.

Sif and Thor were clearly dressed in their old battle gear, red cloth and silver armour. It looked amazing. But Loki…

"Jeez, Loki – is that really you?"

Loki coyly looked up from underneath fake eyelashes. He was wearing green and gold eye shadow, and his thin lips were coloured in with a subtle red. He was wearing black leather trousers and a green and black corset that clung tightly to a push-up bra stuffed with several pairs of socks. His cleavage looked worryingly real. There were gilded metal plates covering parts of his chest and legs, with gold clasps and black leather straps to hold it together. From his corset was a piece of cloth coming down like a wide skirt that didn't go below his knees and was open at the front. Sif was using her curling tongs right now for the final details on his hair.

Tony gave a low whistle. "Damn, Loki, you look downright _sinful_."

The Brit looked up with a sly grin. "You think so?"

"Definitely in my top ten of most beautiful women I've ever met."

Bruce rolled his eyes, and Tony gave him a peck on the lips. "Don't be jealous, Specs, you're green enough as it is. You're in that top ten too, don't you worry." This drew a huff of laughter from his boyfriend, and Tony counted it as a win in his books.

Sif drew back from her own boyfriend and gave his shoulder a soft squeeze. "There, done." The last finishing touches to the outfit were a pair of leather boots with straps and worryingly high heels, and a black cloak that was green on the inside and lined with black fur. When he got up, the already tall boy towered over everyone else.

He looked royal. He looked _magnificent._

And he looked like the hottest woman in the school.

As they walked to class, Bucky went to walk next to him. "So where did the inspiration for this outfit come from?" he asked. Loki gave a crooked smile. "Well, we all have names from Norse mythology, so we wanted that theme. So I dressed as Loki."

"Wasn't Loki the god of mischief? And a guy?"

"Yes, he was. Though I prefer to call him the god of chaos. He was the god of fire as well. But a thing that is slightly less well-known is that he spent time as a woman as well, giving birth to several children in that period of time. I can assure you that Odin didn't like it. He called it perverse."

Loki's mouth pressed into a thin line, and Bucky wondered for a moment if the real Odin shared this opinion. "Did you ever dress as a woman before?" he asked. This question managed to bring the smile back to the other boy's face. "A few times. I quite enjoy it. It isn't as comfortable as male clothing, but it does give me this feeling, this confidence. Heels make your spine straighter, corsets change your posture and breathing, they all bring out certain curves, and men look at you differently. It feels good.

"And if there's girls who feel more comfortable wearing men's clothes, they should by all means do so. Everyone should wear what they love and receive no criticism for it, I believe. If you wear 'slutty' clothes, then that is your choice. The only reason not to do that is because it can get you the wrong attention and it can be risky. But even then, people should wear what they want to wear."

Bucky smiled, but then became a bit more serious. "Does your father share this opinion?"

Loki barked out a laugh. "No, he certainly doesn't. Oh, and neither do they apparently." He pointed to Victor and his squad who were standing down the hallway, glaring furiously at him. "Fucking fairy," Bucky could hear Sebastian say. Loki just laughed heartily and casually flipped them off. "Bitch please, I'm fabulous," he called back, then took off his cloak, hung it on Bucky's hook and walked over to Sif while Tony and Clint laughed their asses off.

~oO0Oo~

The day flew by in a blur of grades and feedback on tests, and then suddenly it was half past seven in the evening, the hub slowly clearing of students. The normal lights were off today and the tables were covered in candles and pumpkins, and Tony was certain there were actual bats flying above them.

Eventually, Bucky and Steve excused themselves, and then they were alone. Darcy stood up with a glimmer in her eye. "Ladies and gentlemen, gods and monsters, I am inviting you on the trip of your lifetime! If you will follow me, please."

The rest of the group got up too and followed her through the hallways, until they ended up outside the Literature classroom. Darcy pulled out a key and opened the door, letting them all in, then locking it behind them again. They went to the middle of the room, where she sat them all down.

"Okay, guys," she spoke up. "Story time. Centuries ago, when this place was built, there was a war going on. Like any sensible human being would do, the owner of the place made sure there were some secret tunnels built in the walls. He made sure it was a maze, with dead ends, narrow bits, and random holes in the floor. The tunnels that _do_ lead somewhere, lead to either the boathouse out back, from when there was still a big pond on the grounds, or to the attic. These are the two main escape exits from the academy.

"And there were times where the outer walls of this place were breached, and soldiers followed the inhabitants into the tunnels. Since their creation, many people have died in these walls. Some of them were removed and given burial, but a few of them were never found again.

Now, the original owner taught the inhabitants the way through the tunnels of course. But the ways have, over time, been forgotten. Nowadays it is only a handful of students who know the paths, which they have learned through extensive exploration. Me and Loki are two of them."

"So what did you need Ian for, then?" Jane interrupted. "Why did you ask for his help? Why not mine?"

Darcy shot her friend a look that was a mixture between apologetic and annoyed at the interruption. "Intern helped me with working the final few tunnels out. Loki already knows them, and as you will find out in a second, that means he couldn't help me. And I know how bad your coordination is, Jane. You couldn't read a map if your life depended on it. So I needed intern here to figure that stuff out. Besides, he's cuter than you."

Ian turned bright red, and the group sniggered.

"Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah. Me and Loki know the way through the tunnels. Sort of. We both liked to sneak around."

"And the attic was an excellent place to have secret romantic meetings," Loki commented. "Sif usually took the normal route while I took the tunnels." Sif smiled at the memory, but Darcy quickly waved it away.

"Yeah yeah, sappy love stuff. You two are adorable. Now, back to the program. We are going to split the group in two. Or, well, you are. Arrange your teams. When we've done that, we will both go into the tunnels. There is a fork in them right outside this classroom, and there are several routes that lead to the attic."

She looked around the group. "We are going to do a spooky race. First to reach the attic will be pleasantly surprised by what's waiting there."

Natasha straightened her back. "Do we have a way to make sure we won't get lost?"

Loki nodded. "We wanted to go in on our own at first, without any help, but decided that was a bit too stupid," he responded. He pulled a red ball of yarn from his bag. "We'll be following the example of Ariadne, who helped navigate Theseus through the labyrinth of the minotaur. We should be able to easily trace back our steps."

The teams were quickly made; Fitz, Simmons, Bruce, Tony, Natasha and Sif went with Loki, and Thor, Jane, Peggy, Pepper, Clint and Ian went with Darcy.

Loki and Darcy both had their own ball of yarn. They each tied the end of it to Ward's desk with a strong knot, and went to stand next to the blackboard. "The honour is yours," Darcy told Loki. He gave a graceful nod and sank down to his knees (which turned out as a proper slut-drop thanks to his high heels). There was a bit of rummaging around near the floor, but then he pressed something, and the brick wall behind the blackboard swung inward to expose a gaping dark hole.

Both team leaders pulled lanterns from their bags, then gave each other another nod.

"Ready?"

Loki showed his sly smile. "Born ready," he replied.

"May the best woman win the treasure."

They stepped into the tunnel. Just as Darcy had said, there was a fork right there. She led her group to the left. Loki watched them disappear around a corner. He then turned around to his own group and lit the lantern.

"Is everyone alright?" There was a whispered "yes" from everyone. He looked around one last time. "Then let's get going."

And as they walked away, the door closed softly behind them.

~oO0Oo~

A/N: Crap. Well, they can still open it from the inside.. But still. It's Halloween, it's creepy tunnels. I wonder what'll happen next... Anyway, review, request, and have a nice day :)


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